PMD: Destined Explorers of Peace
by Cottonmouth25
Summary: Natural disasters tearing the world apart. Scores of evil Pokemon scrambling to retrieve the five mythical Shards. Mystery dungeons on the rise for the first time in millennia. The world's only hope is our heroes, who must join the Guardians and prevent the world's destruction. Second in a PMD trilogy. Rated T for violence and romance.
1. Prologue

**Greetings, and many great hellos! Welcome back to the world of Pokemon, where treasures await, villains lurk, and heroes save the day!**

**This is the second installment of the "Destined Explorers" trilogy, and even I'm unsure of where the plot will lead us! So, why don't we find out right now?**

**Before we begin…**

**First, I'd recommend you read "PMD: Destined Explorers of Legend" before reading this.**

**Second, I don't own the Pokemon franchise.**

**Third, I will be accepting OCs in this chapter, but more on that later.**

**Now… let us enter the world of Pokemon!**

-.-.-.-.-.

The Pokemon world… a world of peace, of happiness, and of utmost tranquility.

Until recent times, that is.

Things have taken a turn for the worse in this normally tranquil world, where Pokemon once coexisted in harmony. Everyone is uncertain of where the next disaster will strike, and most have begun to look out only for themselves in order to survive. It is indeed a world sinking deeper into darkness.

It all started when the natural disasters began and the Legendaries disappeared. Once upon a time, each Faction had a guardian Legendary that would assist its people in times of trouble. But these days, each and every Legendary Pokemon seems to have vanished, leaving their people in turmoil. Natural disasters strike at random, and still, some Pokemon hope and pray that their Faction's guardian will miraculously appear to give its aid. No such thing has happened since the natural disasters first appeared, and Pokemon all over are beginning to lose hope.

Years passed, and eventually groups of Pokemon started to band together in hopes of survival. Most were unofficial rescue team guilds – these sprung up all over the continent, encouraging Pokemon to form teams and help protect their Faction. These unofficial rescue teams did good deeds whenever a natural disaster struck, assisting the weak and rescuing those who were put in danger. Things seemed to look up for a while.

But then, more bands of Pokemon began to arise, and this time it wasn't a good thing. Gangs of criminals appeared, raiding towns and causing mischief. Rescue teams trained hard and often in order to help combat these new rogues. Most ruffians were caught, but the worst of them – the most devious, the most powerful, and generally the most evil – eluded capture and formed alliances.

The Frozen Marauders were the first to rise up against the continent. Made entirely up out of Ice-type Pokemon, the Marauders hid deep within the Cold North Mountains, emerging from their frosty lair to prey upon innocent Pokemon. The rescue teams sent to deal with the Frozen Marauders never returned, and all trade routes passing through the northern mountains were abolished. The Marauders were a new, more powerful threat, and the likes of which had never been seen before.

Then came the Life Stealers, which rapidly made themselves at home in the barren wastes of the Dunedust Desert. They made a living by mugging, conning, tricking, and stealing from any Pokemon that they crossed paths with. These malicious Dark-types rapidly proved themselves to be just as dangerous as the Frozen Marauders, slaughtering any and all rescue teams sent to bring their reign to an end. The already sparse Dunedust Desert rapidly became even less populated as Pokemon raced to find somewhere safer to live.

Not even the high seas were safe. Soon after the Stealers and Marauders came into being to terrorize the land, trade ships in the western and southern oceans began to disappear. A criminal gang consisting completely out of Water-types had surfaced, and was ravaging the oceans, stealing and killing as they saw fit. They called themselves the Abyssal Raiders, and they struck like Ghost-types, rushing up from the murky depths and striking mercilessly before sinking back into the abyss and vanishing without a trace.

Finally, the Darkfeathers were last to come into existence. These Flying-types made their home in a remote valley with no name, where only wild Pokemon existed. But the high mountains surrounding their territory were an obstacle only to their pursuers – the Darkfeathers flew over them in huge flocks to devastate towns and villages, and disappeared behind them again. Rescue teams that didn't fall to their deaths as they climbed the mountains were picked off by Darkfeather sentries.

For years more, these four gangs ravaged the continent, taking advantage of the natural disasters to raid and slaughter those made helpless. But these gangs still weren't content – they wanted absolute power. So the leaders of the four gangs – Glacy the Froslass, Niwri the Krookodile, El Nino the Gyarados, and Mara the Honchkrow – turned their attention to the myths surrounding the continent.

They wanted the Shards.

The five Shards were said to be immensely powerful crystals that kept the Embodiments of Good and Evil, Xerneas and Yveltal, in check. Without the Shards, the world of Pokemon would come to an end as the two ultimate Legendaries clashed. The legend of the Shards stated that "_those who control the Shards, control Xerneas and Yveltal_", and thus the gangs became obsessed with finding them. With all five in one Pokemon's grasp, that Pokemon would gain unlimited power and be able to keep the Embodiments of Good and Evil from fighting.

Recently, the criminals' search for the Shards has become more frantic. Even as Xerneas and Yveltal's struggle becomes worse, and the natural disasters increase in frequency and intensity, the four gangs are beginning to take whatever measures are necessary in order to gain even one of the Shards.

Diamond Island, home of Dialga's Diamond Faction, has already sunken beneath the sea. Seaside Village of Lugia's Water Faction and Fire Isle of the Legendary Birds' Elemental Faction have both been decimated in Darkfeather attacks. The Bughaven Kingdom, which represents Celebi's Insect Faction, has been infiltrated and taken over by the Abyssal Raiders. Trade routes in the Dunedust Desert, location of Groudon's Desert Faction, are being savaged by the Life Stealers.

Things are getting worse. But small groups of good Pokemon all over the continent are beginning to realize the danger they are in as they are caught up in these recent events, and they are actively searching for a lonely island in the middle of the southern ocean.

The Isle of Eternity, home of the mythical Guardians.

It is on the Isle of Eternity where official rescue teams are made, trained, and dispatched to locations around the continent. It is the place where nobility and spirit tinge the air, where justice infuses the water around it and where good will rustles the leaves on the trees. And right now, it is the Pokemon world's only hope. Indeed, the Guardians are in a search of their own – a search to find the Discoverers, Pokemon who are destined to wield the Shards and calm Xerneas and Yveltal.

However… the world is rapidly sinking into the shadows of death. Natural disasters are battering the world. Two Shards have been taken from their Discoverers, and three more remain to be found. Tentacled deep-dwellers from the eastern ocean have ripped the Abyssal Raiders apart and thrown the remnants to the proverbial Sharpedo. The remaining three criminal gangs are now allied in their quest for omnipotence. Mystery dungeons are slowly forming and spreading as the balance of nature becomes disrupted.

The fate of the world is uncertain… and the future looks bleak…

-.-.-.-.-.

**…And that sums up what has happened in the previous story! Dark, am I right? But don't worry – Chapter 1 will re-introduce several of our heroes, heroes that are even now preparing themselves for the grim events soon to unfold!**

**Speaking of old characters – I'm going to need new ones! I want a few OCs to help freshen things up a bit! And you, readers, are going to submit them!**

**Give me some characters! Specifically, I want rescue teams (but no legendary heroes), refugee Abyssal Raiders (Water-types only!), and criminals (they can either be random criminals or allied with one of the three main gangs).**

**Here's what you need to tell me when you submit your OC: I want their name, species, gender, personality, past/backstory, and whatever accessories they happen to wear. Give me your ideas, and I'll be sure to thank you for them!**

**This fanfic isn't going anywhere until I get a few characters, so submit some OCs for me to use!**

**See you!**


	2. Training to be Guardians!

**Lo and behold, the first chapter! Now we get to see a mix of old and new characters as they prepare for what is to come!**

**…Which I am not sure of as of yet…**

**Oh well. Let us begin!**

-.-.-.-.-.

It was a fairly average day as far as the citizens of Arthropod Town were concerned. The town's many-legged inhabitants were put off by the overcast sky, longing for the warmth of the sun, but they were happy for the most part. The Bughaven Forest was a very peaceful place, even after the mysterious death of Queen Luna and the disappearance of Princess Lavender. Their new queen, Rosaline the Masquerain, was doing a good job of maintaining the kingdom and its tranquil state.

The castle was situated a fair distance away from the town, guarded by scores of Surskit. It was a luxurious place to be, especially if you were a Bug-type. The walls were overgrown with flowering vines and other shrubbery, and the castle gardens were more or less a jungle that was barely kept in check. As far as castles usually went, this one was rather small, but the citizens still looked up at the towers which seemed to touch the sky and felt awed by the sight.

Inside the queen's chamber, its sole occupant wasn't feeling her best either. She attributed it, as her subjects did, to the cloudy sky. Rosaline wished the sun would come out and send its gentle rays to chase away her worries. But deep inside, she knew that her real problems would not go away.

The sun would cheer her up. Rosaline knew that. But it wouldn't help soothe her troubled thoughts.

The Masquerain was part of the notorious Abyssal Raiders gang, and since she was Queen of the Bughaven Kingdom, the entirety of the forest was as well. Even before stepping up to rule the Insect Faction, she had been in complete command of a large group of Surskit. These Pokemon, regardless of whether she was a queen, Abyssal Raider, or Oran Berry saleswoman, would obey her without question, and had served her well so far. It had been Rosaline that had caused the death of the royals. However, Princess Lavender had survived – and what's more, escaped – with the help of the famous Team Exo.

However, it wasn't the disappearance of the Venonat heir that was bugging Rosaline – pardon the pun. Even the possibility that Lavender would return and reclaim the throne for herself was insignificant for now. The problem that was bothering Rosaline was her top priority, and she pushed all other thoughts from her mind so she could give this problem her full focus.

El Nino hadn't contacted her in weeks. Rosaline had sent many letters to her leader, who resided in the great trench in the western ocean. She constantly sent reports detailing her successes in her mission, which was to use her position of power to dictate where the supplies sent to the Bughaven Kingdom went. Most of the supplies went to Arthropod City, and the rest were sent to a remote location in the southern ocean, as requested by El Nino's notorious executioner.

Rosaline had written everything down and sent it to the Gyarados, telling him of the recent developments – that the Life Stealers were willingly sending them the supplies they stole, that the kingdom was well under her control, and everything else.

_So why isn't he keeping in touch?_ Rosaline wondered.

She knew that El Nino was busy in his search for the Shards and new territory that would be easy to conquer. But the Masquerain was one of his most trusted aides, so she thought that she'd be getting some kind of reply from him. But the Bug-and-Flying-type hadn't heard from her leader at all.

"Is zere somezing I am not aware of?" Rosaline asked herself as she fluttered over to the huge, open floor-to-ceiling window. "Is El Nino knowing somezing I am not? Why is he keeping me in ze dark about zis? If my leader is in trouble, I must 'elp him, no?"

Rosaline gently glided out the window and onto the balcony, gazing out at her kingdom. The overcast sky shrouded it in shadow – surely that was not a good omen.

-.-.-.-.-.

"Again!" shouted Lynn fiercely.

Barn struggled to concentrate his energies on his opponent, willing them to flow out and form the attack he wanted to strike with. After a second, a wave of psychic power emanated from his ear tufts.

He had done it! Well, sort of.

The Extrasensory attack was much weaker than usual, and when his opponent was knocked down by it, he just got back up and dusted himself off. The Noctowl cursed under his breath and wished he was allowed to call out the attack normally. But for the good of his training, he couldn't.

"Come on!" yelled Lynn. The Swampert was his instructor in this exercise. "You know you can do better than that! Vladimir got it in just six tries!"

Barn ruffled his feathers indignantly. "I know that, Lynn! But he's a lot more powerful than I am, and he's also much older! I'm not as experienced, not as strong, not as talented…"

"Not as, not as, not as!" shouted his opponent, a fierce Tentacruel named Alphonse. "Stop focusing on what you're not good at! Doubt will just drag you down! You have to be determined!"

"You can do it, Barn!" cried Elf, his best friend, from the sidelines.

The Hoothoot's voice filled Barn with hope. He had to believe in himself and find the power inside of him that was necessary to complete the lesson. So he tried an Extrasensory attack again, clamping his beak shut so he wouldn't call out the attack. The psychic energy struck Alphonse, this time managing to make him wince with pain.

Barn and his friends were into their second week of training on the Isle of Eternity. In that time, they had grown in both strength and intelligence. The Guardians of this remote island knew so much about battling, working together, and the world in general, so there was a lot from them that Barn and the others had to learn.

The Noctowl had been elected the leader of Team Destiny, which consisted of himself as leader, Elf the Hoothoot, Vladimir the Noivern, and Princess Lavender the Venonat. Whereas Barn, Elf, and Vladimir were all wild Pokemon that had dreamed of seeking out the Guardians and joining them, Lavender was a refugee from her own kingdom. One day, the Venonat often told them, she wished to go back home and use her Guardian training to reclaim the throne that was rightfully hers. She had definitely become much stronger in the days of training that had passed. All of Team Destiny had.

Lynn the Swampert ordered Barn to keep trying. The Water-and-Ground-type was the leader of Team Midnight, an all-female Gold-ranked rescue team that had only recently come out of retirement to rejoin the Guardians. Lynn was from the Yin-Yang Islands, along with her husband, Neith the Floatzel. And right now, she was their instructor as she taught them the skill of using attacks without uttering their names.

Barn deftly dodged as Alphonse fired an Ice Beam in complete silence. If he had been hit, the attack would have dealt super-effective damage. But the Noctowl was safe, allowing him to strike back. He focused his inner strength and flew into the air, before streaking downward with a silent Take Down attack.

Alphonse grunted as Barn slammed into him, throwing him to the ground painfully. The Normal-and-Flying-type allowed a feeling of elation to come over him as he fluttered to the ground next to the Tentacruel. He had finally managed to complete an attack without speaking!

Elf, Lavender, and Vladimir applauded him on the sidelines. "You did it!" squealed Lavender, throwing herself against the much bigger Pokemon and hugging him.

"Yes, that vas truly a masterful piece of vork," Vladimir agreed, patting Barn on the back. "Vladimir knew you vould be able to do it."

Barn grinned modestly and shuffled his talons. "It was really hard work," he admitted.

"Of course it was!" Lynn shouted, stomping over. "That's why only us Guardians can get it done! Only we on the Isle of Eternity can master the art of executing attacks in silence."

The Noctowl blushed under his tawny feathers at the Swampert's praise. He turned to Alphonse, who was being helped to his feet by members of his own rescue team, Team Biosphere.

"Sorry about that," Barn apologized. "I wasn't sure I'd be able to pull it off, so I hit with all my might."

"That was the point," Alphonse pointed out, rubbing the spot on his bell where Barn had tackled him. "Wow, kid, that was something. You hit like Cheli!"

At the mention of the famous Yanmega's name, Barn grinned again and shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. He knew he'd never be as good as Chelicerae, who was part of a Platinum-ranked rescue team and one of the best Guardians there were.

"Congrats, Barn! I guess you finally managed to pull it off after all!" said Ozzy, leader of Team Biosphere. He and his brother Strut were not-very-well-known fossil Pokemon from prehistoric times called Poachor. They were tall, streamlined, and bird-like, with long legs that allowed them to run at amazing speeds. Ozzy and Strut also loved the taste of eggs, even more than was usual for their species.

Evelyn, a Dragonair and Alphonse's best friend, slithered over and gave the Tentacruel a Sitrus Berry to help heal the wounds he sustained in the fight. "Thanks," Alphonse grunted, swallowing the berry.

Lynn put her massive hands on her hips and looked around at her students. "Alright, you've all done pretty well today," she said to them. "I think we can call this lesson off and continue practicing tomorrow."

"Dinner, then?" asked Ozzy, and his teammates all replied with nods. Team Biosphere walked away from the training grounds, talking amongst themselves.

"We're doing really well in our training!" Lavender enthused, hopping up and down with excitement. "Maybe Team Midnight will even deem us ready to take jobs from the Bulletin Board soon!"

Only Bronze-ranked rescue teams and up could sign up for missions posted on the Bulletin Board, which was where rescue teams went when they wanted to help Pokemon in need somewhere on the continent. With natural disasters wrecking the world, they needed all the help they could get. In fact, the name "Guardian" was a term used for any rescue team above the Silver-ranked status. Team Destiny and Team Biosphere were still in training, so they couldn't go out into the world and help Pokemon just yet.

Vladimir patted the Venonat on the head and replied, "Vell, all ve can do for now is focus on training and attaining Bronze rank. Then ve go help Pokemon in need!"

The four of them said their goodbyes to Lynn and headed off in the direction Team Biosphere had gone, toward the dining platforms on the east end of the island.

Suddenly, the members of Team Destiny were aware of the presence of three others. "Spoken like a true Guardian," said Chelicerae himself, buzzing up beside them. "You're training's going pretty good so far."

His teammate on Team Exo, the Eevee named Tara, nodded in agreement. "It won't be long before you rise above the Silver rank and become Guardians!" she said encouragingly, standing on her hind legs for a moment to hug Lavender. "Your mother would be very proud of you, I'm sure of it," she added, and the young princess beamed at her.

The third figure was someone Team Destiny knew very well. Adrianna the Gardevoir had accompanied them on their journey to the Guardians' isle, battling Darkfeather soldiers and Rosaline's Surskit guards along the way. As it turned out, she was a retired rescue team member who had once served the King of the Guardians. Even though she was back on the Isle of Eternity, the Psychic-type had refused to rejoin her team, and instead was learning how to become a medic from the various Audino, Chansey, and Nersur on the island.

"I'm glad to see that everyone's doing fine," Adrianna said kindly. From the safety of her arms, little Topaz gurgled and smiled at the four of them. She adjusted her grip on the baby Ralts and joined them as they walked in the direction of the dining platforms.

"Say, where's Goliath?" Barn asked, rotating his head until his beak was pointing at Cheli.

The Yanmega loosened his prosthetic leg and used it to scratch the back of his head, where he couldn't reach otherwise. "I think he's still training with Team Sunburst," he replied, referring to the most revered rescue team on the entire island. "If I know Basil and Rex, they'll be too busy arguing to keep their eye on the target."

"If they can," Elf commented, shooting Cheli a knowing wink.

-.-.-.-.-.

On another part of the training grounds, a Serperior, Tyranitar, and Espeon all launched their attacks in three differing spots. The Serperior launched his Leaf Storm attack directly at the target, while the Espeon and Tyranitar attacked with Stone Edge and Signal Beam in the most likely directions the target would attempt to dodge.

But it was no use. Goliath weaved his way around each of their attacks in the blink of an eye and sped forward with Take Down. In another blink, all three of them were picking themselves off of the ground painfully.

"Remind me never to agree to another one of your ideas again," the Tyranitar, Rex, growled at Basil.

The Serperior shook himself and replied acidly, "At least this target practice session is challenging. All you want to do is smash boulders."

Grace, the Espeon leader of Team Sunburst, stepped in between them and stopped their argument. But she didn't get a chance to admonish them as a huge, frightening voice drowned her out easily.

"HA! You're going to have to do BETTER than THAT if you want to STAND a CHANCE against my SPEED!" the voice boomed, and a tiny insect fluttered down in front of the three of them.

Despite his name, Goliath was the smallest known Pokemon in the world. The Midjet was less than an inch tall and needed to constantly use Bug Buzz in order to amplify his normally-inaudible voice. However, he could fly at the speed of light, making him quite possibly the toughest Pokemon ever. Any Pokemon not adapted to such a lifestyle would be literally torn apart at that speed.

"Yes, we admit defeat again, Goliath," Basil said exhaustedly, bowing his head humbly.

"For the FIFTEENTH time in a ROW!" crowed Goliath.

"Don't get cocky, squirt," Rex said in his gravelly tone. "Arrogance can topple giants. Wait, that isn't right… heck, you know what I mean."

They couldn't hear Goliath chuckling, but everyone could see his tiny body shaking with mirth. "ALRIGHT, I'll say THIS much," he admitted. "You three are getting PRETTY GOOD. You ALMOST hit me that time!"

Basil took this in stride, but Rex seemed to grow a little more frustrated. "So close, yet so far," he muttered.

"The story of your life," Basil replied.

Grace used Psychic to stop the Tyranitar in his tracks before he could swat his comrade upside the head with his tail. "If fighting Goliath all afternoon isn't enough to get you two to stop behaving like a starving Zweilous, I don't know what is," she said exasperatedly. "Why don't we head over to the dining platforms for dinner?"

"EXCELLENT idea!" boomed Goliath, making Team Sunburst wince. "I'll RACE you there! Go AHEAD, have a TEN MINUTE head start. I'll CATCH up." His tubular mouth stopped him from smirking, but the Midjet looked smug anyway.

"Enough, Goliath," Grace said firmly, shutting him up. "Let's just get a nice meal before we head off to bed. No arguments, no boasting, just pleasant conversation."

Basil smirked at Rex. "Did you hear that? She said 'pleasant conversation'. Which means you should keep your gaping jaws shut."

Rex saw red. "THAT'S IT!" he roared, charging at the Serperior. The serpentine Pokemon easily kept ahead of his enraged comrade, snickering uncontrollably.

Grace and Goliath both sighed as the pair ran off in the opposite direction.

-.-.-.-.-.

The place everyone on the Isle of Eternity called "the dining platforms" was a place on the eastern shore that had been established back when the Guardians had first came to inhabit it. As the number of rescue teams on the island grew, everyone decided that it would be a great idea to install a large, public eating area where the rescue teams could socialize over a hearty, filling meal.

Thus, the dining platforms were born. Whereas most of the islands' trees were altered in such a way so that they could support various shops and housing for the Guardians, these select few trees had been altered in a completely different way.

These humongous trees had gotten their crowns chopped off, so that they no longer supported any branches. They still towered a good forty feet in the air, though. They were also about twenty feet in diameter, making them sturdy and great – if a little cramped – areas for public dining. Each of these trees had wide wooden platforms extending from them, increasing each trunk's diameter an extra twenty feet.

These forty-foot wide platforms were connected to each other, allowing adequate space for all the rescue teams to gather together and eat. And all of this was subjected to the gentle glow of the sun as it set in the west. The other trees on the island cast pleasing shadows over the platforms.

Team Destiny had just arrived, climbing up the huge wooden staircase that had been constructed around this particular tree. Although three out of the four members of Team Destiny could fly, Lavender couldn't (yet). Thus, they needed to climb up the massive set of stairs in order to eat every day. It was good exercise, so they didn't complain.

"Oh, look!" cried Elf, pointing with a stubby wing at a table that caught her eye. "Team Blazers' table is free!" The Hoothoot had a soft spot for Team Blazers, since they had once helped her navigate the expansive Vulcana City.

"Ve have not seen them in quite a vhile," Vladimir agreed. "Vhy don't ve go over and say hello?"

The Charizard and Scyther that made up Team Blazers were quite happy to see them. "Well, if it isn't our favorite rookies," chuckled Jules, the Charizard. "How're you all doing?"

"Fine, thanks!" chirped Lavender, settling onto the wooden bench.

"Is your little band enjoying the training?" asked Razor, chopping her apple in half with a scythe.

"Definitely," Barn agreed, sweeping his eyes over the food-laden table. It appeared that the Audino and Nersur had already distributed the meals.

Chansey and Audino were universally recognized as natural healers and doctors, but Nersur were a breed not found anywhere on the continent. Instead, these pink serpents had migrated to the Isle of Eternity from another part of the world. Apparently, their venom acted as an amazing antibiotic, allowing them to heal the wounds of any Pokemon they bit.

Lavender was looking around, moving her spherical body back and forth as she did so. "Where's Stellar?" she asked, referring to the child King of the Guardians. "I think this is the first time I haven't seen him here with the rest of us at dinner."

Jules swished his fiery tail and shrugged. "Beats me," he replied. "I heard something from Team Daybreak earlier today. They said there was some bad news that involved something happening over on the continent. Maybe Stellar's trying to figure out a solution to whatever it is."

Razor nodded and fluttered her wings slightly. "I have complete faith in our King," the Scyther said, getting nods of agreement all around.

"Yep, Stellar will think of something," Elf piled on. "Pass the Rattata legs, if you please."

-.-.-.-.-.

**Lynn belongs to FinalPower. Ozzy and Strut belong to me – can you guess where I got their names?**

**It's harder writing a sequel than I thought. Guess I have a lot of planning to do.**

**OC submissions are still open, although I still don't know how and where I'm going to fit them all in. See the Prologue for details.**

**Also, make sure to check out my Deviantart page (user: Cm25) for a picture of Ozzy and Strut! (A picture of Nersur will be coming soon.)**

**Review, send me a character if you want, and wait for the next chapter!**

**Chapter Question #1: I've introduced a lot of my own Pokemon in Destined Explorers of Legend. What others do you readers want to see?**


	3. The Tragedy of Team Hydroburn

**Sorry for the wait.**

**Anyway, OC submissions have just closed! I know, this is kind of abrupt – but I'm using predominantly old characters in this story, and I really don't have room for a lot of OCs! Also, Goliath is to blame for messing up the rest of the submission forms.**

**Goliath: "But it was an ACCIDENT! VLADIMIR made me SPILL the JUICE all over the MAREEP pens!"**

**Vladimir: "Just shut up, vill you?"**

***cough* Moving on…**

-.-.-.-.-.

The moon had risen a little more than an hour ago, and there wasn't a single Pokemon on the Isle of Eternity awake to enjoy the splendid sight of the gentle, silvery light spilling over the tops of the leafy trees. Everyone – even Barn and Elf – had fallen asleep already.

However, there was indeed a few Pokemon still up and about, but they didn't have the time or leisure to look out the window and admire the tranquil scenery. There was worrying business to take care of.

Stellar floated around his chamber, pacing incessantly. The Jirachi was the King of the Guardians, but one certainly wouldn't be able to tell by watching him – he was child-like and very fun-loving, always the life of the party whenever there was a celebration going on. However, he was dependable and able to make good decisions in the worst of times, and coupled with his hundreds of years of experience, this made him into a very trustworthy Pokemon and certainly one fit to be a King. His flaws, however, were that he was lacking in confidence and prone to panic attacks when the going got rough. But no one, especially a king, was perfect.

Right now, though, Stellar was more worried than usual. Lynn had come to him earlier in the day with some bad news of some sort. She hadn't given him all of the details, but she had told him that it was particularly worrisome. Stellar had thus invited her and the rest of Team Midnight to his chamber once everyone else was asleep.

Just then, the chamber doors opened with a creak, allowing dim light to flood into the room. Framed in the doorway were the four bulky figures of Lynn and her teammates – there was Lynn, obviously the Swampert leader, her sister Nineve the Feraligatr, Warisha the Ampharos, and Summer the Haxorus. Together, they were Team Midnight.

The Jirachi king was glad to see them again. Years ago, Team Midnight had retired in order to better take care of their families, but because of the rising evil on the continent and the threat the four criminal gangs presented, they had decided to band together again for the greater good. Their hiatus evidently hadn't dulled their skills – Lynn and the girls were still the best Gold-rank team Stellar had ever seen. They all wore identical black scarves around their forearms, patterned with a yellow crescent moon symbol.

"Hello again, Stellar darlin'!" drawled Nineve, stomping over to wrap her scaly arms around him. "Yer just as good a king as ever, ya know. This island's comin' along great!"

Stellar chuckled nervously. "Um, thanks," he said, returning the hug.

"We've got some pretty bad news for you!" chirped Warisha, in a tone of voice that was totally inappropriate for the unpleasant situation.

"You sound like Summer after a queen-sized vanilla-and-Oran-Berry waffle cone," Lynn said jokingly.

"Hey!" the Haxorus protested. "They're delicious!"

Stellar waved his arms around to get the girls' attention. "Excuse me, but if you're done arguing, can we please get to what you wanted to tell me?"

"Right ya are, darlin'," Nineve said apologetically. "Now Lynn, tell the boy what ya wanted ta say…"

Lynn waved her sister off. "Ahem… right," she began. "Well, to make a long story short… I found this job request on the Bulletin Board this morning."

She held out a massive hand, in which a medium-sized piece of paper was clutched. Stellar took it and read it over, face growing paler with every word he read. He shook his head and reread it, trying to make sure he didn't misunderstand what it said.

Finally, he looked up. He gulped and said shakily, "So, Team Hydroburn…"

"…hasn't come back yet from their mission," Lynn finished grimly for him. "Remember, you sent them to the Hot Peak Volcano almost three weeks ago? Well, that's them alright. Things must be serious if they're asking for help."

Nineve snorted. "Not really," she huffed. "That Cannon kid couldn't find his way outta an empty room, even if he was given a map."

The Swampert shot the other Water-type a warning glare. She then turned back to Stellar and continued, "If they're sending that request, they must be still alive, at least. We're going to need a good rescue team willing to climb the Hot Peak Volcano if we want to save them."

"Why can't you do it?" Stellar asked curiously.

Warisha smiled and chirped, "We would do it if we could~!"

Nineve smiled as well, but it was more apologetic than cheerful. "With all due respect, Stellar darlin', we're still tryin' ta get these old bones used ta rescue team work."

Stellar nodded wisely, understanding their predicament. "I'll look into finding a rescue team. Actually" –

Summer suddenly raised a hand, cutting him off. "Sorry to interrupt," the Haxorus interjected, "but we've got another piece of less-than-pleasing news for you, if you don't mind…"

She handed Stellar another piece of paper. He sighed at the mention of more bad news and reluctantly looked the paper over. His eyes widened at what was written on the paper, and he hastily reread it like he had done with the previous one. When he looked up, he looked surprised, but not as shocked as with Team Hydroburn's rescue request.

"So, in summary," he began, raising the paper up to his face in order to look it over one more time, "there's a mystery dungeon that has developed near WinterTown called the 'Windswept Tundra', and this Absol has apparently been chased there by a gang of Ice-types."

Lynn and her team nodded simultaneously. "Yeah, that's the gist of it," the Swampert confirmed. "We're thinking that it's probably the Frozen Marauders that are chasing him. I mean, what other gang of Ice-types do we know? And speaking of which, how in Arceus' name are you taking the possibility of mystery dungeons springing up for the first time in thousands of years so well?"

Stellar wordlessly pointed to the back of the room, where an intricate mural decorated the far wall. The mural displayed five objects surrounding a pair of Legendary Pokemon. The one on the left was the Embodiment of Good, Xerneas, and the other was the Embodiment of Evil, Yveltal. The five objects were none other than the Shards themselves. Underneath the mural was the original legend of the Shards, said to have come from Arceus himself:

_The five Shards,_

_Fire, Water, Air, Earth, and Life,_

_Keep the Embodiments of Good and Evil in balance._

_One day the Shards will become scattered,_

_And Xerneas and Yveltal will be released._

_The Legendaries will sleep the sleep of shadows,_

_And do nothing to help as Good and Evil clash,_

_And natural disasters batter the land._

_Those who control the Shards,_

_Control Xerneas and Yveltal,_

_And thus the fate of the world will be in their hands._

_The Discoverers are destined to wield the Shards,_

_And reunite them so the Legendaries may awaken once more._

At last, Stellar spoke up. "The natural disasters are laying waste to the world of Pokemon. Conditions are worsening and everything is becoming more and more unnatural. I'm actually not that surprised to hear that mystery dungeons are coming back."

Warisha nodded happily. "I agree! After all, mystery dungeons are supposed to form in places where things aren't as they should be, right~?"

"You really shouldn't sound so happy about this…" Lynn muttered exasperatedly.

Stellar had his head bowed and his eyes narrowed as he retreated into his thoughts. He hovered in the air like this for quite a while, and just as Lynn was about to try and get his attention, he looked up.

"Alright," he said decisively, doing his best to sound like a leader. "Team Midnight, I need you to stay here and keep training. But before that, you need to give this job to another rescue team, one you feel is capable of handling it."

The Jirachi handed Lynn the rescue request from the Absol in the Windswept Tundra. The Swampert took it and accidentally crumpled it slightly, but didn't care enough to notice. "Done," she replied. "We'll find a capable rescue team to take care of this job."

"But what about Team Hydroburn?" asked Nineve skeptically.

Stellar thought about that before shrugging. "I don't really know what should be done for now," he admitted. "Let me think on this for a while. Maybe there's a rescue team on the island that can handle the Hot Peak Volcano, or maybe not."

Team Midnights recognized an exit cue when they saw one. They each bowed deeply – something that annoyed the young king to no end – and exited the room, closing the chamber doors behind them.

Stellar was left alone to do what he did best. Think.

-.-.-.-.-.

The Hot Peak Volcano was normally a pretty intimidating place. It hadn't erupted in centuries, but the plumes of smoke that constantly belched up from the deep crater at its pinnacle certainly gave it an ominous feeling. The citizens of Vulcana City, however, regarded it as a tall, silent guardian that watched over their city.

Team Hydroburn had regarded the mountain in this way as well. At least, up until now.

Inside the deepest reaches of the volcano, Cannon was sweating profusely as he lumbered down the twisting tunnels that seemed to change every time he traversed them. His teammates, Kate and Blaze, followed close behind him, unwilling to accidentally get separated from their Blastoise leader.

"Stay sharp," Cannon called back quietly. "We don't want to be ambushed by wild Pokemon again. We almost didn't make it the last time."

"You're right," Blaze the Blaziken (because what else would he be named?) remarked. "This is the fourteenth time we've gone through this cave. And we can't seem to find our way out, either."

Kate shivered uncomfortably. "Don't remind me," the Meganium murmured. "I don't like this place."

None of them did. They had realized a long time ago that the innards of the Hot Peak Volcano were a mystery dungeon. The unnerving feeling that buzzed through their bones and chilled them to their cores should have tipped them off earlier, but it was only until wild Pokemon had attacked and knocked them out – making them lose half their items in their treasure bags – that they began to suspect the truth. So far, they had been attacked and defeated by the hostile natives thirteen times, losing part of their inventory and somehow getting warped back to the entrance each time. The "entrance" consisted of a large, enclosed cavern in which the unnatural vibe was at its strongest.

And the worst part of it was, Team Hydroburn wasn't able to find their way out of the volcano!

"It feels like we've been wandering around in these caves forever," Kate said quietly, shivering again.

"We might well be," Blaze remarked grimly. "In mystery dungeons, time can be seriously out of whack. We could walk back out of the volcano and find that only seconds have passed. Or even centuries, in fact."

Cannon turned around and regarded his teammates. "What do you want to do?" he demanded, albeit quietly. "Stay here and hope that help arrives. We can't do that because it means risking our lives! We have to make it to the end and hope that the rumors are true. I don't know about you, but I will not be happy if there is no Shard awaiting us at the end of the dungeon."

Indeed, Team Hydroburn had been assigned an important mission by the Guardians – to confirm the rumors that one of the five Shards was located inside of the Hot Peak Volcano. So far, they haven't been able to yet.

But they were soon to find out that their goal was indeed closer than they thought.

A solid-looking rock wall with a strange, intricate rune soon blocked their path as Team Hydroburn turned the next corner. The three of them stopped, dumbfounded at the sight of the unexpected obstacle.

"What do you suppose this is?" Kate wondered, tapping it with a foreleg.

"It seems to be something of importance," Blaze mused, scratching his beak. "That rune was obviously meant to be placed here for a reason of some sort."

"Well, whatever it is, it's blocking our way forward," Cannon grumbled.

Blaze shrugged. "I could always Dig my way under and have you guys follow," he offered, flexing his talons.

But Cannon shook his head and extended the two cannons that were built into his shell. "This way is more fun," he said with a grin as he readied his Hydro Pump.

The twin blasts of water that shot forth from Cannon's cannons, so to speak, pulverized the rock wall like it was nothing. As the Blastoise had half-suspected, the wall wasn't that thick and crumbled into pebbles easily. The resulting storm of rock and dust exploded outward when the water struck, revealing what looked like a large chamber beyond the new threshold. It was rather hard to see through all the dust.

But the dust eventually cleared, allowing the members of Team Hydroburn to walk through and see what lay beyond for themselves. It was indeed a huge, underground chamber that awaited them, with a relatively low ceiling – only about fifteen feet high – and a moat of glowing lava ringing the room on three sides. It was stifling hot, and the heat made the atmosphere thick and a little hazy.

"Whew, who could live like this?" Kate gasped, taking deep breaths in response to the terrible air pressure. "I can hardly breathe in here!"

"I kind of like it," Blaze remarked. "But it is a little extreme, isn't it?"

It was then that Cannon tapped both of them on the shoulders and wordlessly pointed ahead. His two teammates looked in the direction he was pointing and immediately cursed themselves for not noticing it earlier. There, directly in the middle of the lava chamber was a small stone pedestal, and sitting on said pedestal was an innocent-looking yellow piece of… something. It was metallic and seemed to swirl with the color of heat and fire.

"That has to be it," Cannon breathed. "It has to be the" –

*Grunch!* *Grunch!* *Grunch!*

The trio stopped dead as they heard the strange sound yet again, closer than it had ever been before. At differing times during their journey through the mystery dungeon, each of them had heard this odd, menacing noise echoing faintly in the tunnels. It sounded unmistakably like claws digging into solid rock.

But none of them had ever heard it this closely or this clearly before. Whatever it was that was making the sound, it was closing in.

"What is that?" Blaze muttered in frustration. The Blaziken's arms sparked and lit aflame – it was a nervous habit he'd had for years. "What in Arceus' name could be making that cursed sound?"

The *grunch* noise became louder and more frequent. Now, it sounded like it was all around them. Cannon extended his cannons again and looked around tensely, ready to fight off whatever was coming. Kate whimpered and tried to hide behind the Blastoise, but since the noise seemed like it was coming from everywhere, it was hard to hide.

Just then, it stopped.

Right before a monstrous, steaming creature dropped down from above with a horrible roar.

-.-.-.-.-.

Alphonse was unpleasantly surprised to hear a knock at his door. With a groan, he got up out of his bed and, grumbling to himself, walked to the entrance of the hut, even as Evelyn and the Poachor brothers looked up sleepily.

The many huts scattered around the Isle of Eternity were situated high up in the immense trees. Around each tree spiraled a wooden walkway that connected a multitude of platforms, which were in turn connected to the trunk of the tree itself, upon which each hut sat. Alphonse always considered himself lucky that Team Biosphere's hut was placed near the bottom of this particular tree – he had never enjoyed heights that much.

The Tentacruel opened the door and was momentarily startled to see Lynn, backed up by the rest of Team Midnight, standing outside the hut. Not that he was pleased to see them, of course. "What do you want?" he demanded. "It's the middle of the darned night!"

"Appropriate, then, considering our team name," Summer said, trying to crack a weak joke. When no one laughed, she closed her mouth and stayed silent.

Lynn forced herself into the hut by pushing aside Alphonse, and before he could move back into his original position, the other three followed her. Now the Water-and-Poison-type was struck speechless at their audacity.

"Now, what's this all about?" Ozzy asked, none too pleased to see the girls of Team Midnight either.

Warisha stepped forward, wagging her tail. "We have a job for you guys~!" the Ampharos sang. "There's someone that needs rescuing right at this minute, and we think you're the Pokemon for the job~."

Strut was fully awake now, along with Evelyn. Ozzy went from grumpy to curious immediately. Alphonse, as you can imagine, stayed grumpy.

"That's pretty much the gist of it," Nineve admitted, giving her eternally-cheerful teammate a sharp elbow to the ribs. "Ya see, darlin's, there's a Pokemon out there that's bein' chased by none other than the Frozen Marauders themselves. They're basically the Darkfeathers of the frozen north. Apparently, he's got somethin' these icy criminals want, and if they want it that badly, it probably isn't worth lettin' it fall into their hands, now ain't it?"

Now even Alphonse was paying attention by this point.

"Frozen Marauders, huh?" Evelyn said. "Something worth investigating, I suppose. When do we start?"

"Immediately, of course!" guffawed Lynn, rather loudly.

Normally, Ozzy would be indignant at letting another team order his teammates around. But it seemed the situation at this moment was rather urgent, and thus he decided to suck it up and let it slide.

"How are we going to get there immediately?" the Poachor asked, puzzled. "We're pretty far southeast of the continent."

In response, Summer reached into her large treasure bag and pulled out a slumbering Abra. "I'd recommend getting your supplies in order," the Haxorus said with a smile.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Team Midnight belongs to FinalPower, so thank you! (Yes, I am aware that they're missing a member. Only four to a team~!) More OCs to come soon!**

**It looks like Team Hydroburn's gotten themselves into a bit of trouble. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh? Literally.**

**Anyhow, why not send me a review and a little feedback? Tell me how the story's coming along so far.**

**See you soon!**

**Chapter Question #2: New Pokemon for X and Y have been released! Examples are Tyrunt, Amaura, the evolutions of the starters: Quilladin, Blaixen, and Frogadier, and Gigan - *ahem* I mean Mega Garchomp! Which is your favorite?**

**I'm going with the little T-Rex. Rock-and-Dragon-type with the Hard Chin ability? YUS.**


	4. The Tip of the Iceberg

**Sorry for the late update. It is indeed hard writing a sequel, especially when you have no idea where the story will eventually go…**

**Anyway, prepare for the appearance of more old characters!**

-.-.-.-.-.

Cenric was usually a pretty optimistic and carefree Pokemon. There was no doubt about that. So why was the Buizel's cheerful attitude rapidly deteriorating, to be replaced by nothing but bitterness and anger?

Simply put – anyone would feel that way after two full weeks of drifting on a piece of wood in the western ocean. But that certainly wasn't the end of it. Cenric was stuck with his two foster parents, Blanca and Sam, his former best friend, Madeleine, his abusive mother, Vizeli, and a random Crawdaunt guard that once served the Abyssal Raiders.

The Buizel was a wanderer that originally hailed from the Yin-Yang Islands. Long ago, Cenric had lived peacefully in a little community that was called Ebony Village alongside Sam and Blanca, his parents, Lynn and Neith, and Madeleine, among others. However, an unspeakable disaster involving him and a friend of his had led to his entire life spinning out of control. Madeleine had ran off to Arceus knows where, and Sam and Blanca had set off in search of her. His parents, who used to be part of Team Searchers but had retired, had gone off with them. Guilt-stricken and miserable, Cenric had left the Yin-Yang Islands and spent years wandering across the continent in search of them.

In recent days, his life had taken a turn for the worse. Along with several other Pokemon, he found himself being captured by a group he had never heard of, the Abyssal Raiders. In their dungeons, he had been reunited with Sam and Blanca – the Ninetales and Absol had told him that they had been separated from Lynn and Neith during the search for Madeleine and had been captured by the Raiders some months afterward. The younger Absol, apparently, had joined another gang of criminals, but had since been used by the Abyssal Raiders with her parents as hostages.

Vizeli was another story entirely. The Floatzel was Cenric's birth mother, but had abandoned him on the dreaded Glacier of Absence and left him to die. However, he had escaped and made it, somehow, to the Yin-Yang Islands, being adopted by Lynn the Swampert and Neith the Floatzel (coincidentally the same species as his mother). In the Raiders' dungeons, the young Buizel had encountered Vizeli again, who was serving as a member to the despicable gang.

But now, they were all forced to work together. A previously unknown and extremely powerful force had wiped out the Abyssal Raiders during a gladiator battle set up by the gang's maniacal leader, El Nino. The majority of the Raiders, including El Nino, had been slaughtered, and Cenric's group had barely made it out alive.

In the weeks that followed, Cenric had clung to Sam and Blanca for comfort, since they were the only two Pokemon who genuinely cared about him. Madeleine was livid with him because of the disaster he had caused way back when, and was certainly no source of consolation. Miraculously, the Buizel had managed to form and hold onto a fragile alliance with Vizeli – he had previously saved her life, on the grounds that she was still his mother and he still cared about her deep down.

"When is this monotony going to end?" moaned Madeleine, rolling over onto her back in a futile attempt to find some sort of comfort. "We've been stuck here for weeks with nothing but fish to eat. Thanks to Daunt," she added.

The Crawdaunt guard nodded. He had refused to give his name, so the others simply referred to him by his species name, or 'Daunt' for short.

Cenric remained silent. Normally he'd snap at Madeleine, as her hostile attitude irked him somewhat, but that would only cause her mood to sour further and thus make everyone else miserable.

"We've gotta hit land sometime soon, darlin'," Vizeli said indifferently. She seemed to distrust Madeleine, ever since she had first wondered what the younger Absol's problem was and Cenric had told her. Could Vizeli actually _care_ about her son enough to make enemies with Madeleine, based on the Dark-type's connection with his past?

"You know the western ocean better than anyone, Daunt," Blanca said softly, turning her head toward the crab-like Pokemon. "What can you tell us about where we're going?"

Daunt shook his head. "We've been headin' northeast for days," he rasped. "We should have hit the continent by now. Unless we've gone too far north and have bypassed it entirely."

"I doubt that would happen," Sam frowned, swishing his extravagant array of tails back and forth. "The Long Talon Peninsula projects farther west than the Abyssal Raiders' fortress is, or almost. If we're going to hit land, we'll be hitting Long Talon."

"And Murk," murmured Cenric, shuddering. He had heard awful stories about what went on in that shady port town.

Blanca sensed his discomfort and swiftly tried to reject the notion. "Or the Northern Swamp," she offered. "Personally, I'd prefer that to the rotten smear of grease they call a settlement."

There were nods all around. Even Daunt seemed reluctant to set foot in Murk.

But suddenly, he shaded his eyes with a large pincer and peered off into the distance behind Sam and Blanca. He opened his mouth, paused to reconsider, and then spoke. "Could that be… land?"

Immediately, everyone turned around to stare at the faint yet unmistakably different horizon line – different from the endless oceanic horizon that they had been gazing at thus far, that is.

"I think it is!" Cenric exclaimed joyfully.

"Let's not get too excited," Madeleine cautioned him seriously. "It could possibly be the area around Murk you're seeing."

Vizeli peered more closely at the now completely undeniable spot of solid ground, which they were slowly approaching because of the current pushing them leisurely in its direction. "I dunno," she said carefully. "Do ya see any buildings, darlin'?"

"…I don't think I do…" Cenric said cautiously after a moment. He didn't want to be mistaken and get everyone's hopes up.

"Let's wait until we get closer to be sure," Sam advised.

They waited for the slow current to push them a little closer to the land. As they approached it, they could see that there were definitely no buildings in sight. Instead, there were tall, skeletal trees that rose up to scratch at the sky. A thick wall of clouds hung over the area, and when the group drifted under it, everything suddenly became dark and overcast.

"It definitely looks like the Northern Swamp to me," Madeleine said.

Cenric blew a loud sigh of relief, earning him a glare from his former friend. "That's certainly something," he commented. "Maybe our luck is changing for the better, finally."

"It's certainly about time," muttered Vizeli.

-.-.-.-.-.

Imagine a swamp – you probably think of a thickly forested, muggy place where the humidity is so thick it fogs up the edges of your vision, and the ground clings to your feet.

But the Northern Swamp was nothing like that. It was made up of nothing but grey, almost black, mud, puddles of water, and slimy lichens and mosses. The trees were bone-white and extremely tall, their branches extending like claws toward the thickly overcast sky. Fog and mist shrouded the area, hiding much of the unpleasant landscape from view. There were humongous rock formations that stuck up out of the mud like small mountains. All in all, it was definitely no place for a picnic.

"What's with all the fog?" asked Cenric, shivering from the cold. "It's not exactly encouraging me."

The creepiest thing about the Northern Swamp was that despite its death-like atmosphere, there were sounds of life all around. There was the chirping of insects and the singing of Palpitoad everywhere. A Noctowl hooted forlornly from the tops of one of the skeletal trees. It was unnerving mostly because no one in the group could see where these sounds were coming from.

"Ugh, who'd live in such a Feebas' nest?" Vizeli grumped, wrenching her foot free of the thick mud with a loud sucking sound. "I can barely walk in this disgusting marsh!"

"It's certainly not a place I'd choose to build me own home in," agreed Daunt, pulling his leg away from a Spinarak web he'd stepped through.

Sam and Blanca stuck close together, shivering slightly as the fog caused moisture to form on their fur. "Where are we heading?" the Ninetales asked, trying to keep his tails from trailing in the mud.

"Why, what destination did you have in mind?" Blanca replied, looking at her husband with bewilderment.

"None, really," Sam admitted. "But don't you think we should head back home now that we're free? We have Cenric and Madeleine, and I suppose Vizeli and Daunt could come with us as well. I'm not one for letting others suffer in our place."

Vizeli growled as she wrenched her foot free of the mud again. "While I do admit that it's mighty kind of ya to offer me somethin' like that, darlin'," she spoke up, "I do hafta ask ya this – how do ya suppose we get there? Walk across the continent?"

"She has a point," Madeleine said grudgingly. "The Yin-Yang Islands are in the middle of the eastern ocean."

Cenric thought about it. They didn't have any transportation other than their own two (or in some cases, four) feet. It would take them years to walk all the way from coast to coast!

"We could stop off in Seaside Village for a boat," suggested Daunt. His remark was punctuated by the sound of a dry, dead plant snapping under his foot.

"There's only one thing wrong with that," Blanca said quietly. "We now know that our new enemies live in the eastern ocean."

Madeleine shook her head, seeming fed up with this entire situation. "Then why go back home at all?!" she demanded. "The islands could end up getting wiped out like the Abyssal Raiders did!"

"Or Diamond Island…" murmured Cenric.

He had told them all previously about the destruction of Diamond Island and the three survivors he had previously encountered, just before the destructive hurricane that had swept him up to Deepdark Island. _I hope they're safe,_ he thought. _Especially little Terra. No one deserves an untimely death less than that sweet, naïve little Charmander._

"What about the Guardians' isle?"

Everyone turned around, their mouths hanging open in shock as they regarded the Pokemon who they had never expected to say those words – Vizeli.

"This might seem hard for ya to believe," the Floatzel explained, "but I want the world ta stay a safe place. I like my life and I wanna keep it. So why don't we head on over to the Guardians' isle and warn 'em about that frilly nutcase?"

It took Cenric a moment to bring himself out of his shock and speak up. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Mother has a point. The world needs to stay safe, and with those… monsters out there, the world could be in terrible danger. We need to warn the Guardians and help them beat them back into the abyss they come from."

At his words, Madeleine seemed to regain her senses. "You aren't seriously agreeing with her, are you?" she snarled at him. "She's an Abyssal Raider, and you know better than anyone that she'd betray the entirety of Vulcana City in order to save her own skin. Arceus, you're beyond stupid if you're even considering it!"

To Cenric, the Absol's acidic tone stabbed him in the heart like a blade. But his expression remained stoic, and he instead turned toward Vizeli in order to see her reaction.

"Not likely in this case, darlin'," the Floatzel disagreed with a scowl. "Like I said, I wanna keep on livin' for as long as possible, and that probably won't happen if the world of Pokemon goes to the Distortion World. And you're a Life Stealer double agent, ain't ya? Who're you ta talk about betrayin' other Pokemon?"

Madeleine visibly flinched as Vizeli's accusation struck a nerve. For once, the self-centered Water-type was telling the truth. She had initially joined the Life Stealers, but had betrayed them when the Raiders took her parents hostage. The Dark-type's hatred of herself and what she had been forced to do didn't ease the fact that she had still done it nonetheless.

"Why don't we save this argument for later?" Blanca hastily suggested. "Right now, we should keep moving and at least try to find shelter before the sun goes down."

"What sun?" grumbled Cenric, glancing up at the cloudy, gloomy sky.

The group trudged on through the mud and grime. The sounds of the swamp echoed all around them. Cenric vaguely noticed that the mist wrapping them in its chilly tendrils seemed slightly colder, and was growing even more so by the second.

"Wh-what's going on?" asked Madeleine, her voice stuttering slightly as the temperature dropped.

Snow suddenly began to fall as it grew even colder. The sounds of the swamp were silenced one by one as the unseen wild Pokemon fled at the sudden and unnatural change. The Pokemon rounded a gigantic mountain of rock, even bigger than the rest – and were suddenly locking eyes with the source of the unusual snowstorm.

Only Vizeli and Madeleine recognized the familiar face – well, _faces_. Wrapped in an aura of cold air and falling snow, even as it blasted out the chilly winds from its pipe, was an unusually large Vanilluxe. The two ex-criminals immediately knew the sentient dessert to be Helios and Selene, two, or one (one of the two), of the most fearsome members of the Frozen Marauders.

"If it isn't a pair of Abyssal Raiders," the twins said in unison. Their echo-speak unnerved most Pokemon. "We're quite surprised, actually. Do you have business in Murk, as we did?"

Vizeli stepped forth, motioning for the others to stay quiet. "As a matter of fact, darlin', no. We're escapin' from the Abyssal Raiders' fortress. El Nino and all of his lackeys are dead, ya see. They've been wiped out."

Behind her, everyone nodded, supporting her.

Helios and Selene's eyes widened. "But that cannot be," they protested. "If you truly did come from El Nino's trench, we figure that you must have been sailing for weeks. The currents are rather slow this time of year. And we saw El Nino at the meeting only two weeks ago!"

Now it was Vizeli's turn to be stunned. "What meetin'? Yer outta yer frozen little minds. We saw El Nino get murdered!"

All of a sudden, the temperature dropped again, and the wind picked up. Helios and Selene scowled simultaneously, spewing huge gusts of freezing air in their rage. "We are angry now," they stated, glaring balefully at the group. "When we get angry, things do not turn out well."

Somehow, Cenric felt that their monotone voices were scarier than if they had shouted. _The sooner we get out of here, the better,_ he said to himself, trying to suppress a series of shivers. _Preferably without this lunatic – I mean, these lunatics pursuing._

Helios and Selene seemed to be struggling to control their unusually hot temper. "Come with us," they suddenly blurted, voices shaking with fury. "Glacy will want to hear your entire story. We do not believe it, but we think that our leader will want to investigate such matters and adjust her plans accordingly."

Madeleine smiled sarcastically. "My, I wouldn't want to have to step in and force her to change all of her carefully-laid out plans, would I? Let's just part ways and forget this little ordeal ever happened, agreed?"

Now the Vanilluxe twins seemed to be losing the struggle to stay in control of themselves. "No!" they shouted, their normally-emotionless voices becoming a fierce growl. "You are our prisoners now! You must cooperate, and no one will get hurt!"

Sam glared at them and blew a small lick of flame from his muzzle. "Says who? I'd recommend you get your frozen rears out of here or I'll melt them for you."

Helios and Selene's eyes flashed red for the briefest of instants. "THAT DOES IT!" they shrieked, and they unleashed a terrific Blizzard attack on the spot.

Cenric struggled to avoid it, but it was already too late. In only a moment, he and the others were frozen solid up to their necks. He had turned around as he tried to leap out of the way, and thus he could hear but not see Vizeli cursing loudly behind him.

The Vanilluxe took control of their rage and now smirked darkly. "Now whose rears are frozen?" they mocked. "Since you seem a little immobile at the moment, we will do you the favor of carrying you to the Cold North Mountains. It is a long trip, after all."

On an invisible cue, a pack of Snover and Sneasel closed in, melting out from the frosty mists that seemed to permanently cloak the vicinity. Cenric now realized that the icy clouds that Helios and Selene spewed created that effect wherever they went.

But now, the gang of Ice-types worked together to pick up the mostly-frozen Pokemon. It took three Snover to carry Daunt due to his already great weight. Because the Sneasel were weaker, it took two to carry Cenric and four to carry Vizeli. When all of them were secure, Helios and Selene turned around and headed north, blending into the fog as they did so.

Cenric and the others could do nothing to stop the Ice-type lackeys from following.

-.-.-.-.-.

Across the continent, in an equally cold wasteland deep in the frigid north, another Pokemon was having Ice-type-related troubles. The lone Absol's pure white fur blended in rather well to the snow and ice surrounding him. However, it didn't hide him from the leering eyes of none other than Lanche of the Frozen Marauders and his quartet of Snorunt minions.

"Give it up, kid," the Glalie growled, his voice like shattering ice. "You've been running for long enough. It's useless to waste your energy like this. Come quietly and we'll go easy on you."

The Absol, who went by the name of Wolfe, smirked mockingly. He wasn't one to taunt his enemies, but this group had been chasing him for too long. They didn't deserve his respect.

"You're bluffing," Wolfe retorted. "We're on the border of a mystery dungeon. The Windswept Tundra, if I remember correctly. You're threatening me now just because you don't want to go in."

Lanche gave him a toothy smirk. "I could say the same about you, Absol. You're just as unnerved by the dungeon's unnaturality as we are. And we saw you send that rescue request to the Guardians earlier. So don't you dare bluff to us again."

Wolfe gulped slightly. This group of villains wasn't going to let up. They would pursue him into the Windswept Tundra's instinctively unnerving depths if necessary, so determined were they to claim him and his secret.

_I'll just have to go down fighting,_ Wolfe decided just then, and split the chilly air with a shout of "Psycho Cut!"

A glowing purple blade of energy formed around his horn, and he twisted his neck to hurl the blade at his foes. The Snorunt shrieked and scattered in fear, while Lanche simply growled and floated quickly to the side, allowing the Psycho Cut to blaze past him and into a snowdrift. There was an explosion of snow when it collided, which framed the glowering Glalie and made him look even more intimidating.

"Like to throw things, eh?" he chuckled, the sound like bones being crushed underfoot.

Wolfe ignored him and prepared another Psycho Cut, hurling it at the barbaric Ice-type with all of his strength.

Lanche's laughter stopped even as black energy began to form in his mouth. He charged up the energy swiftly and fired it in a powerful Dark Pulse attack. The tainted energy shattered the psychic blade and continued on its way, plowing into Wolfe and sending him flying.

As a Dark-type, the attack wouldn't normally do a lot of damage, but the Absol found it painful anyway. He climbed up out of the knee-deep snow and shook it out of his fur, then began charging for another Psycho Cut attack.

"Is that all you know how to do?" Lanche chuckled again, then blasted him with Dark Pulse before he could even launch the attack. As Wolfe flew through the air and into the snow, the energy forming around his horn faded as his concentration was broken.

Wolfe gasped in pain as the shadowy energy left several stinging scorch marks behind. "Not… giving up…" he muttered, assuming a battle-ready stance.

"Seriously, you want to continue this?" asked Lanche, raising his eyebrows. "Well, I guess it'll be easier bringing back an exhausted foe than one full of energy. So why not?"

Icy sparks crackled around the tips of his pitch-black horns, forming a sphere of freezing cold energy between them. The Ice Beam attack came as a jagged bolt of blue lightning that lanced toward Wolfe. If Lanche's Dark Pulse was enough to hurt him, then the Ice Beam would seriously injure or perhaps even maim him, without any doubt.

Just barely, Wolfe managed to twist his body out of the way of the incoming beam. It kept going and hit the ground behind him, instantly exploding in a flash of blue light and creating a large, mist-wrapped icy formation. He panted softly, growing tired even as his wounds burned slightly.

"You can't keep this up forever," Lanche said menacingly, readying another Ice Beam, his horns buzzing with energy.

Wolfe knew that the Glalie was right. He needed to find an opportunity to escape. But the only escape route not blocked by the Marauders was deeper into the Windswept Tundra, and the thought of going into that mystery dungeon made his knees weak.

The four Snorunt suddenly closed in around him and fired little gusts of chilly air at him. Their Powder Snow attacks swept over him, causing his already burning wounds to flare up with even greater pain. Wolfe gasped audibly and staggered slightly.

Lanche smirked at him. "It's the end of the line for you," he growled. "You're coming with us, whether you like it or not."

Just before the Ice-type fired his waiting attack, Wolfe abruptly pulled out his secret weapon. "Flash!" he cried, and his fur, already blinding in the light of the sun, blasted out a brilliant white light that scorched the eyes of the five Marauders, rendering them temporarily blind.

But Lanche hadn't acquired his position as one of Glacy's lieutenants by being stupid. "After him, you idiots!" he roared at his Snorunt, squeezing his eyes shut. "He's escaping!"

By the time the light faded and their eyes adjusted to the change, however, Wolfe had already gone. He hadn't bothered to conceal his footprints, as there was only one possible escape route anyway.

"That little…" Lanche snarled to himself. "He can't get away. It's impossible, and he knows it. But he's stalling for time anyway, just to mess with us."

The Snorunt quartet chattered amongst themselves and nodded in agreement.

"Come on, you fools," the Glalie ordered. "That Absol won't get far before he reaches the end of the dungeon. And that's where we're going to capture him. Now let's go, and look sharp!"

His minions all snapped to attention and saluted. Grunting indifferently, Lanche glided slowly but steadily forward and into the Windswept Tundra. The Snorunt marched in single file after him.

_We'll find him and his treasure,_ Lanche thought darkly. _No matter how many innocents that have to die in the process, Glacy ALWAYS gets what she wants._

-.-.-.-.-.

**One of my readers requested in "Destined Explorers of Legend" that I expand more on the Frozen Marauders. Well, here you are!**

**Writing will be slow, as you might have noticed, since I have other fanfics to write, and I also have to think of more pieces to put into this new storyline.**

**Review, and I'll see you again with another chapter!**

**Chapter Question #3: Who's your favorite of the Marauders? For what reason?**


	5. Wonderland Turned Wasteland

**And now, we continue our adventures into the Windswept Tundra, following the Absol Wolfe and his pursuers, and the rescue team sent to save him and the secret he holds from their icy grasp!**

-.-.-.-.-.

It was dawn when the portal appeared on the edge of the frigid cliffs that dropped down into the ice-sheathed sea. This far north, the eastern ocean was more ice than water, with huge, crunching floes bobbing up and down in the tumultuous sea. The cliffs were frozen solid, their peaks of ice covered in a thick, soft bed of snow and their sides bristling with huge icicles.

Four Pokemon stepped out of the portal, which was bright blue with a jagged, swirling edge of black, and immediately began to shiver from the sudden cold. It was Ozzy who administered the Tamato Berry juice to the rest of Team Biosphere, which settled in their stomachs and bloomed rapidly, flooding their bodies with warmth. Strut was carrying the Abra that had taken them here, before he propped the slumbering Psychic-type behind a nearby rock which sheltered it from the wind.

"So this is the home territory of the Winter Faction," Alphonse mused. "I have to say that it's rather appropriate."

"Where's the Windswept Tundra?" Evelyn asked, coiling up tightly. As a Dragon-type, no amount of Tamato Berry juice could completely purge the terrible chill from her bones. "I'm freezing out here, and there are probably hostile Ice-types wandering about…"

Ozzy chuckled. "Don't worry about it," he told her. "Strut and I are Rock-and-Fighting-types. We'll be able to handle any frozen adversary we encounter in the mystery dungeon." Behind him, the other Poachor nodded his agreement.

Everyone involuntarily shuddered at the phrase. "Mystery dungeon" – no one had ever suspected, even with the world of Pokemon becoming more and more dangerous, that the mythical, distorted locations would ever come back.

The members of Team Biosphere looked out across the unforgiving landscape. The slope of the cliff upon which they stood offered them a good view of the surrounding area, but no one stopped to admire it. The frozen land was barren and overcast, with clouds choking the light from the sun and darkening the landscape. There was nothing but snow, boulders, and the wind. In the distance, about two kilometers away, were jagged glaciers that stabbed at the sky. Even from this distance, the four Pokemon could feel the unnatural vibe radiating from the peaks.

"That must be the entrance to the Windswept Tundra over there," Strut said.

"Wolfe's probably in pretty bad shape by now if he's in there," Alphonse added. "We'd better hop to it and get this rescue mission over with."

They began to walk, leaving the Abra behind. It wasn't like it minded, being dead to the world and all. In any case, Team Biosphere soon left the cliffs far behind them at the brisk pace they were traveling, eager to get into the mystery dungeon and out of the biting wind. But with every step they took closer to their goal, the more their instincts raged and rebelled, telling them to turn back, and it was all they could do to fight off the urge to do so.

"S-So what do we know about this m-mystery dungeon?" asked Evelyn. Her voice stammered a little bit from the cold she was trying her best to fight off.

"We don't know anything about this dungeon, apart from the fact that it's cold as heck," Ozzy replied, shrugging. "But my brother and I do know a little bit about mystery dungeons in general."

"P-Please elaborate," Evelyn encouraged them.

"Yes, we're not familiar with those old wives' tales," huffed Alphonse. "They weren't much use in the bakery back at Diamond Island."

It was common knowledge among the team that Alphonse had actually been forced to retire from his job just before Diamond Island sank. The Tentacruel had been a pretty good baker up until he forgot to keep his oven mitts on when handling the pastries – not only did he burn himself, but his toxic tentacles had poisoned the food and caused a town-wide case of bad indigestion. This incident hadn't helped his already negative attitude.

Ozzy began to explain what he knew, with Strut occasionally interrupting with a tidbit. "You see," he began, "mystery dungeons are supposed to form in places where nature has gone awry. Places where earthquakes have hit, volcanoes have erupted, and indeed, islands have sunk, have the potential to become mystery dungeons. But really, we don't know how or why they form."

"They're weird places for sure," Strut piled on. "Time goes out of whack inside of them, their layouts constantly change, and you can get kicked out if you take too long traversing them, such as if you're knocked unconscious. Wild Pokemon also end up becoming much more hostile, since they're forced into this unnatural place that their instincts constantly rebel against, which turns them insane."

"And that's basically all we know," Ozzy finished. "The Windswept Tundra is one of these dangerous places. We're going to need to keep our guard up once we're inside."

Evelyn and Alphonse nodded in unison. They had been friends since childhood, and had been through much trauma together. After everything they had experienced, they weren't going to let themselves be separated. Not now.

The two of them determinedly stuck closer together as they followed behind the Poachor brothers, heading across the frigid northern land, toward the peaks that rose from the ground like the spine of a giant Pokemon in the far distance.

-.-.-.-.-.

Team Biosphere had been heading deeper into the twisting canyons of the Windswept Tundra for an hour. The icy mountains closed in around them, forming claustrophobic pathways that were littered with side tunnels, from which wild Pokemon would often spring. Fleeting wisps of sunlight streamed down from the thick clouds above, illuminating the complex slightly.

Something that they all had noticed was that the landscape had changed after they had gone a certain depth into the Windswept Tundra. At first, the canyons were all ice, but then Team Biosphere had reached a point where some of the ice seemed to have melted away, leaving behind a landscape of mixed snow and dirt. It also seemed warmer than the outer parts of the dungeon, and better resembled a tundra-like landscape as its name suggested. And just when Alphonse had been grumbling that "Windswept Wasteland" would have been a better name.

"Look at how everything's changed," Evelyn noted. "The climate even seems warmer than before." She said this in an optimistic tone of voice, although there was still an undercurrent of anxiety buried within.

"Of course," Ozzy murmured. "Mystery dungeons are unnatural places. If this place was still simply the Windswept Tundra and not a mystery dungeon, then the temperature wouldn't have changed a bit."

Indeed, although the four members of Team Biosphere were glad that the bitter cold had mostly gone, they were more uncomfortable than ever as the ominous vibe that had first come to them on the edge of the dungeon settled deep into their bones and filled them with unease. This mission couldn't be over soon enough.

The four Pokemon continued on through the twisting maze, turning corners and jumping at wild Pokemon ambushes. Ozzy and Strut took the lead, as they were the best equipped to fight off the resident Ice-types. Evelyn was behind them, while Alphonse took the rear. As they progressed, they started seeing more dirt and snow, and less ice.

But when they rounded a corner, they got a shock. The mountains they were traversing between had widened slightly to form a sort of "chamber" that the pathway opened up into. In the middle of this chamber was a snow bank, and in this snow bank were five unconscious Ice-types – four Snorunt and a Glalie.

"Who are they?" Strut wondered aloud.

"Probably just more wild Pokemon," Alphonse said dismissively. "Let's just move on."

"Do you think Wolfe managed to do this?" asked Evelyn.

Ozzy was about to reply when the pile of snow started to shift. With an enormous moan, the Glalie freed himself from his frozen prison and shook the excess off. He opened his eyes blearily and immediately caught sight of the rescue team.

"Who are you?" the Ice-type demanded, his voice harsh and cold.

"Team Biosphere," Ozzy replied, stepping forward. "My name is Ozzy, and these are Evelyn, Alphonse, and my brother Strut. We're here to rescue an Absol named Wolfe, who has gotten himself lost in these mountain trails."

At the sound of the name, the Glalie seemed to become startled, as if he hadn't expected to hear it. This subtle change in attitude was picked up on by Evelyn almost instantly.

"Do you know Wolfe?" the Dragonair asked.

It took the Face Pokemon a few seconds to respond. He calmed down and floated forward toward the group. The four Snorunt behind him started to wake up and free themselves from the snow as well, but he paid them no heed.

"You'd better believe I do," the Glalie growled. "My name's Lanche, and me and my… team are trailing this Absol as well. We've been at him for a while now, but he keeps evading us."

"Why would that be? Doesn't he want to be rescued?" inquired Strut, perplexed.

Lanche gave the closest thing he could to a shrug. "I'm as confused as you are," he replied almost indifferently. "At first we tried asking nicely, but when he refused to come with us, we tried using force. Several times, I might add. Look at what he did just a few minutes ago!"

The Ice-type jerked one of his horns toward a spot high up on one of the mountain peaks. There was a spot about halfway up that looked as if it had been damaged, as if a portion of the mountain had been torn off. "He smashed through that rock outcropping and dumped all this snow on us," Lanche explained.

Indeed, now that the members of Team Biosphere got a good look, there seemed to be the shattered remains of a stone structure scattered on the ground and in the snowdrift.

"What you say is worrying," Ozzy said, "but it is essential that we find Wolfe and rescue him from this dungeon. Do you have any suggestions?"

Lanche grinned. His facial structure made the expression seem malicious. "Sure do," he replied. "You could let us come with you. Maybe it'll be easier to navigate this dungeon and find this Absol."

Ozzy looked toward each of his teammates. Each of them gave him a nod, which was good enough for him.

"Alright, Lanche," the Poachor said decisively. "You can accompany us through the Windswept Tundra for now."

"Thank you kindly," the Glalie said, dipping his 'head' respectfully.

Team Biosphere then forged ahead, deeper into the labyrinthine mountain complex, while Lanche and his Snorunt quartet followed close behind. Just before they entered the next tunnel, though, Lanche paused and smirked to himself.

"I swear, those so-called 'Guardians' make this too easy," he chuckled. "Let's go, crew. We've got a Discoverer to capture."

-.-.-.-.-.

Wolfe finally stopped running when an immense black shadow fell across his path. He froze and hesitantly looked up, fearing that a much larger Pokemon – Lanche, for instance – was blocking his path.

Luckily, it wasn't another Pokemon. Instead, immense, spiny grey peaks rose up in front of him, iceless but not looking very warm and inviting. The foremost peak was framed by a gigantic, snow-covered mountain that speared the sky like a white needle. Above, black clouds gathered, and snow began to fall. Wolfe glanced around – he was in the middle of a "chamber" that the Windswept Tundra canyons had created, and the unforgiving grey mountains rose all around him. The ground was cold, hard, and covered in dirt, with the occasional patch of snow dotting the earth.

Wolfe was trapped.

He started to wonder if fleeing into the Windswept Tundra was a very good idea after all. But just as the wind began to pick up, whistling eerily through the spiny mountains, Wolfe heard something else – the muffled groans and struggles of a Pokemon hidden from his view.

A little more looking around revealed where the Pokemon in question was – far off to the side of the chamber was a large boulder that was shifting and rocking slightly, as if something were trapped behind or underneath it.

Wolfe hesitantly approached the boulder and rapped his horn against it experimentally. The rock stopped shifting, and the Pokemon behind it quieted. The Absol knocked again, producing a loud clicking sound.

When he did it a third time, the unknown Pokemon spoke up. "Well, what are you waiting for?!" it snapped, voice unbelievably harsh. "Get me out of here! Or are you an ally of the Frozen Marauders, and have come by just to laugh at my misfortune?"

"I'm not one of the Marauders," Wolfe replied, raising his voice so the Pokemon could hear him clearly through the boulder. "I am running from them."

The Pokemon snorted. "Good luck making any progress from here," it said darkly. "It's a dead end. If they're chasing you, they'll probably be here very soon. Now, if you could _please_ do a good deed before you end up captured and-slash-or dead – _get me the heck out from here!_"

Wolfe winced at the sudden shout. The Pokemon was being extremely rude, and he considered for a moment leaving it trapped behind the rock. That might teach it to mind its manners. But then again, it would probably starve or suffocate instead. Better to save it, and maybe then it would be more inclined to be polite.

"Hey, are you still there?" the Pokemon piped up, voice tinged with worry.

Instead of answering, Wolfe stepped away from the boulder and reared his head back, horn glowing a bright purple. He released the Psycho Cut with a single twist of his neck, sending the blade flying right toward its target.

The boulder split with an immense crack that shattered the stillness of the air upon impact. It crumbled to pieces and threw up an immense cloud of rock dust and snow, making Wolfe cough a few times. In seconds, the mystery Pokemon had climbed up over the fractured boulder and through the blinding curtain.

Wolfe's eyes widened as they fell upon a male Treecko, perhaps a little younger than he would have expected. The normally harsh yellow stare of the Wood Gecko Pokemon was made even more so by the baleful look in his eyes.

"About time someone did something about that big gravestone," the Treecko muttered. "I was beginning to think that I'd be nothing but bones by the time I got free. I guess I'd better thank you, then," he added distastefully, as if he were suggesting he would really rather not do that.

"Think nothing of it," Wolfe sighed, waving his paw dismissively.

The Treecko suddenly chuckled, brushing a bit of dust off of his arms. "So you're running from the Marauders, huh?" he said amusedly. "Same here. I double-crossed them at one point, so they caught me and holed me up behind that big rock. But I never wanted to help them anyway – they forced me into it. I just went along so they'd get off my case."

Wolfe considered this. "What's your name?" he asked curiously.

It took the Treecko a little while to answer. "Silvarus," he finally admitted. "Why, what's yours?"

"Wolfe," the Absol replied. "Do you know a way out of here?"

Silvarus chuckled again. "Only exit I know of is the same way you came in. And you're not getting out as long as they're blocking it."

He pointed over Wolfe's shoulder, and the Dark-type turned around. Indeed, there was a contingent of Pokemon coming down the pathway and into the chamber – four he didn't recognize, but the other five he knew. It was Lanche and his Snorunt lackeys.

"You wouldn't happen to be Wolfe, would you?" said one of the unfamiliar bird-like Pokemon.

"The Pokemon we were charged with rescuing?" added the other questioningly.

Silvarus gave a loud bark of laughter, which startled the group. They hadn't seen him until he had stepped out from behind Wolfe. "Rescuing?" he sneered, folding his arms. "I wouldn't call handing us over to the Frozen Marauders much of a rescue mission."

At this remark, the four unfamiliar Pokemon exchanged perplexed glances. "What are you talking about?" the Tentacruel demanded.

"We don't know anything about the Marauders," the Dragonair added. "And we of Team Biosphere would definitely refuse to ally with such evildoers."

Wolfe pointed with a claw to the Ice-types that stood behind Team Biosphere. "But you already have," he stated simply.

The members of Team Biosphere all turned around as one to look at Lanche. He only grinned back. "You're part of the Frozen Marauders?" Evelyn asked suspiciously.

Lanche's smile widened considerably. "I was wondering when you'd figure that out," he said.

Alphonse nailed him and the Snorunt in his scathing gaze. "And you're the ones chasing after this Absol for whatever reason," he accused, extending four of his tentacles threateningly.

"Bingo," Lanche almost sang. "By Arceus, you Guardian folks are getting smarter by the minute."

Team Biosphere retreated until they were flanking Wolfe and Silvarus. Ozzy and Strut were actually slightly in front of them while Alphonse and Evelyn flanked them. They all moved slowly into combat positions, ready for a fight.

"Why have they been after you, might I ask?" Silvarus muttered to Wolfe. His tone of voice made it seem almost like he didn't care anyway. The Absol just shrugged and said nothing, not willing to tell.

"Are you the leader of the Frozen Marauders?" Ozzy asked hostilely.

Lanche laughed, long and loud, a sound that grated unpleasantly on everyone's ears. The four Snorunt joined in with giggling snickers of their own. "Oh, don't I wish," the Glalie replied. "No, Glacy's the leader. And she wants the Absol, not you five. So I suggest you skedaddle and don't look back."

The Face Pokemon floated away from the exit, giving them a clear way out of the dungeon. "Go on," he said, jerking his horn at the pathway. "The Absol's as good as gone now. I'm willing to spare your lives if you accept my offer and get out of here while you still can."

The falling snow intensified slightly, and the wind lashed at the six Pokemon, but they didn't budge. "We were charged with saving Wolfe, and that's what we're going to do," Evelyn said determinedly. "There's six of us and only five of you."

"Perhaps," Lanche replied evenly. "But two of you have a type disadvantage against us Ice-types, and another one of you is already injured. So the odds are more like three against five."

"Never tell us the odds!" growled Silvarus, plucking a dead twig from the ground and popping it in his mouth.

"If that's how you want it, Solo," Lanche said almost regretfully. "If you're so eager to sacrifice yourselves, who am I to say no? Dark Pulse!" he added, blasting them with shadowy energy.

Team Biosphere knew it was coming because he yelled out the name of his attack. They scattered and allowed the energy to smash into the ground behind them. Then Ozzy and Strut both attacked, lashing out with their powerful forearms for a Mach Punch. They did it in silence, so as to take Lanche by surprise.

The Mach Punches both struck home, throwing Lanche to the ground with a heavy thud. But he got up effortlessly and snarled at them, seemingly unfazed by the damage that had just been dealt to him.

"Get the others!" the Glalie growled to his Snorunt. "These two are mine."

The little Ice-types all saluted before charging at the other four Pokemon. As one, they fired Icy Wind attacks that whistled across the chamber, blowing snow and dust into the air in their wake.

Evelyn hastily got out of the way and retaliated with a Thunder Wave attack, blasting a spark of blue electricity from her tail and stopping a Snorunt in its tracks. Alphonse took the Icy Wind attack with a slight grimace, then struck back with Poison Jab. His poison-soaked tentacles hit the offender at the same time another Icy Wind slammed into Silvarus, throwing him into the far wall. Finally, Wolfe neatly dodged and hurled a Psycho Cut at the Snorunt who had attacked him, dealing noticeable damage to the Ice-type.

Ozzy and Strut, meanwhile, weren't doing so well against Lanche. They struck out with Mach Punch and Hi Jump Kick and hurled Egg Bombs, only to have the Face Pokemon dodge every single one. He jerked, dipped, and swooped through the air, always managing to narrowly avoid every attack that the Poachor brothers threw at him.

Finally, the two Rock-and-Fighting-types ground to a halt, panting slightly and glaring disbelievingly at Lanche. "All done?" he asked casually, blue sparks running along the length of his horns. "Fine, then it's my turn. Ice Beam!"

The icy blast of lightning zigzagged forward, but Lanche had underestimated his targets' speed. Ozzy and Strut leapt away the instant the words left his mouth, and the Ice Beam lanced off harmlessly into a mountain. The chamber was showered with dust, pebbles, and ice crystals.

The two Egg Thief Pokemon turned around, momentarily forgetting Lanche, when they heard a solid smacking sound. Silvarus had just managed to throw the last Snorunt away with Pound, and now all six Pokemon stood against Lanche.

"Damn fools," muttered Lanche, looking past the rescue team and their allies at his fallen minions. "Why do I even bother keeping you around? Oh well," he added with a sigh. "Guess that means I'll have to kill you all myself!"

On that note, he released a wide beam of Dark Pulse from his mouth, which barreled toward his foes. Unable to successfully dodge in time, they instead combined their attacks – Alphonse used Ice Beam, Evelyn used Dragon Rage, Ozzy and Strut used Egg Bomb, Wolfe used Psycho Cut, and Silvarus added his Energy Ball to the mix. The combination of energies struck with enough power to blaze through Lanche's Dark Pulse and smash him.

Lanche hit the ground with a solid crash and a grunt of pain. His icy face was marred by scorch marks and dirt. Slowly, he got up with a fierce scowl. "This… isn't over," he muttered, unwilling to give up.

Silvarus saw the killer look in the Glalie's eyes and knew that he'd have to do something. There was no way they'd be able to stop Lanche even if they beat him into submission. He'd just keep trying.

A flash of inspiration struck the Treecko as he unconsciously looked back at the great snow-covered mountain that towered over the canyon in which they stood. He imagined a huge pile of snow falling down from above and burying Lanche under its thick, frozen weight, allowing them enough time to escape.

Thought was deed, and everyone suddenly looked back in astonishment as Silvarus charged an Energy Ball and hurled it with all his might at the huge white peak.

"Oh darn, you missed," Alphonse said sarcastically.

"I'm over here, you know," Lanche piled on with equal sarcasm.

"Wait for it…" replied Silvarus with a grin.

Right on cue, there was a distant rumbling sound that shook the earth. Everyone looked around for the source of the tremor, except Silvarus, who looked straight up at the peak at which he had aimed.

"Oh no, you didn't dare," said Ozzy apprehensively.

Now everyone joined the Treecko in staring up at the white peak as what looked like the entire mountain began to slide down toward the Windswept Tundra. The rumbling increased in magnitude until it felt like an earthquake had just struck.

"Avalanche!" screamed Evelyn, already slithering for the pathway that led out of the mystery dungeon.

"This plan looked so much better in my head!" protested Silvarus, dashing after her.

"W-Wait for me!" yelled Lanche as Team Biosphere, Wolfe, and Silvarus booked it out of the chamber-like canyon.

Just behind the fleeing Pokemon, the avalanche burst over the small mountain peaks and began to spill into the mystery dungeon with astounding speed and force. The sight of the rapidly-advancing wall of snow goaded everyone to move faster, even though they were already running as fast as they could.

There was no way they could outrun the avalanche. It seemed impossible that a single Energy Ball could trigger such a massive disaster, but the Windswept Tundra was indeed a mystery dungeon. The sliding snow towered fifty feet in the air and gobbled up anything in its path. Team Biosphere would be next if they slackened their pace even a fraction.

Lanche was the first to go, vanishing into the avalanche with a terrified yell. Then Silvarus tripped on a rock and plowed into Wolfe, and the snow took them next. Evelyn's tail was caught, and she was dragged inside, and as Alphonse tried to save her, he was effortlessly pulled in as well.

Ozzy and Strut lasted a bit longer, with their long legs and incredible stamina. But soon, the frigid air began to burn their lungs, and their energy started to dwindle. They pushed themselves as hard as they dared, but soon, even the two fleet Poachor had been swallowed up by the destructive tidal wave of snow.

Wild Pokemon that lived around the Windswept Tundra fled en masse away from the avalanche, which was still going strong even after it had left the mystery dungeon behind it. The Abra that Team Biosphere had left behind on the cliff blearily opened its eyes and watched unconcernedly as the gigantic pile of snow raced past it, spilled over the cliff, and poured into the frigid, ice-sheathed ocean.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Silvarus belongs to _. Wolfe belongs to LifetheNinetales.**

**Wow, mystery dungeons are dangerous places. Looks like Silvarus went and caused himself a natural disaster! What happened to Team Biosphere and the Frozen Marauders? Were they dumped into the polar sea as well?**

**Find out soon, and leave a review in the meantime!**

**Chapter Question #4: Which of the villainous teams would you join and why? If you don't know about the criminal gangs, I'd recommend reading "Destined Explorers of Legend".**


	6. Welcome Home, Guardians! Part 1

**Because I am the embodiment of pure evil (I lie, Yveltal is), we're not going to see what happened to Team Biosphere in this chapter! Look at you puny readers squirming in suspense! MUA HA HA HA!**

**On a lighter note, we get to see some of our old, favorite heroes for the first time in this story!**

-.-.-.-.-.

It was Team Storm who first saw the trio of boats heading for the Isle of Eternity. Salem had been floating high above the island that morning as usual, admiring the sunset, when he spotted the ocean-going vessels sailing slowly toward the Guardians' home island. The Sinistorm – a Pokemon that looked like an ominous storm cloud – had immediately alerted his two teammates. The Greninja, Zara, had immediately dashed off to find Team Sunburst, leaving so fast it was like she had just vanished. Meanwhile, the Chesnaught named Finn lumbered away toward the docks to prepare for the boats' arrival.

As a result of Team Storm's reconnaissance, there was a fair amount of Pokemon already waiting for the ships to arrive at the docks. Stellar and Team Sunburst were there, obviously, along with Team Storm and the rookies of Team Destiny.

"Who do you think it is?" Barn asked, throwing the question wide open to the group.

"I don't know…" murmured Zara in response.

"Vladimir is sure it can't be anyvun bad, yes?" Vladimir piped up. "Location of island is secret, after all."

"The big bat's right," grunted Finn. "It has to be a rescue team, or a few of them at least. I wonder which it could be, though. Which reminds me, I have to tell Team Daybreak to finish washing the…"

"Shut up, Finn," Salem boomed, his every word rumbling like thunder. "You talk too much."

Soon the boats had come into sight over the horizon. The lead ship didn't look like anything particularly special, while the other two were slightly more elaborately decorated – not to mention cleaner.

"Who could be piloting such a Feebas' nest?" said Basil in disgust. "I can't recall a rescue team on this island that owns such a disgrace!"

"Huh, and you always say my memory's bad," commented Rex.

Stellar sighed at the two of them, bickering as usual. He squinted at the lead boat and asked slowly, "Zara, could you swim over there and tell me what the ships are called?"

"Certainly," murmured the Water-and-Dark-type. In an instant, she was gone, sliding into the sea with nary a ripple.

"Oh, I wish I could do that…" Lavender sighed, voice soaked with admiration. The little Venonat had always looked up to Zara, from the moment she arrived on the island.

Soon, the Greninja was back, her face as stoic as ever but her eyes shining. "The boats are definitely ours," she told the group, her voice quiet but somehow clear to everyone's ears. "They are the Seasearcher, Windchaser, and Tranquility."

Basil's eyes brightened. "Oh, then that explains that old wreck of a ship!" he exclaimed. "How could I not have realized that it was the Seasearcher? And here I thought it was just some ordinary sailors."

Stellar broke into a huge grin. "Team Sand Dragons and Team Bloodsucker are back!" he cheered. Soon, more Pokemon had arrived at the docks as the word spread – two of the isle's most celebrated rescue teams had come home at last.

-.-.-.-.-.

Stellar made sure that the boats sailed into the harbor smoothly. Everyone except Team Storm had stayed on the pier to welcome home the arriving Pokemon – the trio had left on an errand and thus couldn't stay. But all of the others were there to greet the weary rescue teams.

However, imagine their shock when they saw that the first Pokemon to jump off the boat wasn't of Team Bloodsucker or Sand Dragons! Instead, a young Archen with a black bandana landed on the pier and sank to his feathery knees, kissing the wood. "Land! Land! I missed ya so dang much!" he squawked repeatedly.

More Pokemon followed him down – an Archeops and Tirtouga exited the Tranquility to join the smaller fossil Pokemon, while a Victini and Kirlia followed close behind. Then came a Sylveon, Vaporeon, Purrloin, and two Eevee, who preceded a young trio consisting of a Charmander, Growlithe, and Riolu. After them came the last group – a Gallade, Escavalier, Flygon, Terralyrk, Garchomp, Kingler, Clauncher, Corphish, Conductula, Pendrula, and Moskeeteor.

The trio of prehistoric Pokemon was better known as Team Fossil. They were Guardians, but a group that chose to live on the continent, in Seaside Village to be precise. Wyvern, Pteryx, and Tortuga rarely showed their ancient faces on the Isle of Eternity, and when they did, there was something serious afoot with the Water Faction.

The younger trio, otherwise known as Team Bluefire, was Terra, Cliff, and Cobalt. They, unlike the others, were an unofficial rescue team that did not come from the Isle of Eternity. Instead, they had originated on Diamond Island a few years before it sunk into the southern ocean. Furthermore, the Growlithe Cliff was in fact a Discoverer, having found the Earthen Shard before he was captured by the Abyssal Raiders.

Then there was Team Eevui, which was made up of four members of the Eevee family – Okami, Miranda, and Jowl and his little sister Sinestra. They were another infrequent sight on the Guardians' isle, preferring to stay in the Elemental Islets to the north of Diamond Island's former location. As it turned out, Jowl and Sinestra had only joined the team recently, after a devastating attack by the Darkfeather gang.

The largest group was actually made up of four rescue teams; Team Sand Dragons, all Dragon-and-Ground-types and made up of Junpei, Eugene, and Terence; Team Bloodsucker, whose members were the mosquito-like Burner, the Galvantula evolution Tesla, and the centipede Pokemon Drain; the pirates of Team Crustacean, who were Claw, Boomer, and Chet; and finally, the honorable Team Knights, consisting of Lancelot, Arthur, and their new apprentice Luke. All were Platinum-ranked rescue teams and were thus revered all over the continent.

Finally, the two who were not part of any rescue team were Gaby and Shadepelt. The former was Lancelot's daughter and also a Discoverer, and had gotten her Shard stolen by the Darkfeather gang. The latter was a former member of the Life Stealers, and had actually helped the Darkfeathers find Gaby's Shard, or at least attempted to. But now, the Purrloin claimed that she had turned a new leaf and had abandoned the Life Stealers. However, there were still those who didn't trust her.

"It's so good to see you all again!" beamed Stellar, floating forward slightly and spreading his little arms in welcome. Team Sunburst and Team Destiny nodded in the background, the latter somewhat awkwardly.

"Likewise," said Terence. The Terralyrk twisted his leech-like maw into a hideous attempt at a smile. He was a large and intimidating Pokemon, with his serpentine body studded all over with dark green crystals, but he was kind at heart.

"Aye, it's certainly a pleasure ta be in yer presence again, laddie!" agreed Claw. The eye that wasn't covered by an eyepatch twinkled merrily. The Kingler never used any title except "laddie" when addressing Stellar, which the young king greatly appreciated.

"You have no idea what we have been through," sighed Junpei the Flygon, leader of Team Sand Dragons. "Well, not us so much, but Team Knights' crew have gone through a lot of trouble."

"I can imagine," said Grace. "They were kidnapped by the Abyssal Raiders, were they not?"

"Alas, that is the truth," Arthur the Escavalier agreed. "But we managed to break out and make our daring escape, with these young squires in tow." He swept a lance in a wide arc behind him, indicating some of the group behind him.

Stellar could sense that there was something Arthur was reluctant to tell him. He glided forward slightly and pressed, "What is it? What's bothering…"

Tesla stepped forth and held up a pincer, cutting the Jirachi off. "Stellar, we mustn't discuss this now," the Conductula, a much bigger and more powerful version of Galvantula, explained. "It is simply too long of a story, and it would definitely ruin this happy moment. Please, let us just relax now that we're finally home."

Reluctantly, Stellar nodded. Perhaps to keep his mind off of the questions he was dying to ask, he turned to Team Fossil. "I remember you," he said. "You would sometimes come here to aid us in times of particularly bad trouble."

"Yep!" squawked Pteryx jauntily. "This island's gone through a lotta changes, ain't it? It's nice – 'course, not as nice as Seaside Village, but pretty darned nice."

Stellar, as well as Wyvern and Tortuga, couldn't help but grin at the Archen's cheerful voice. He wasn't the smoothest of talkers, but a single sentence out of his beak could make even the most somber Pokemon smile.

"Hold it!"

Everyone turned around, startled, as the shout pealed through the air. Shadepelt was perhaps the most startled of all. Indeed, the cry had come from Barn, and it was directed at her. Every Pokemon's eyes were on the Noctowl as he pointed a shaking wing at the Dark-type.

"What is she doing here?!" he demanded in a tremulous voice. His feathers fluffed up and stood on end with anger, making him appear huge.

Vladimir stepped forward and tried to push Barn back a little. "Vhat is the meaning of shouting, Barn?" he asked. "You know this Purrloin?"

"Indeed we do," muttered Elf, giving Shadepelt a heated glare. With her red eyes and slanting black tufts framing them, she looked especially fierce.

What no one else knew, besides Barn, Elf, and Shadepelt, was that the two owl Pokemon had actually encountered the black cat before. She had been with two Life Stealers and a murderer who called himself Clawface, and had appeared to be threatening Adrianna – a stranger to them at the time – and her baby Topaz. The following battle had been terrible but brief, ending with the four villains being knocked unconscious and left out in the storm that had begun to rage.

"Allow me to explain," Lancelot the Gallade said, stepping forward so that he was between the outraged owls and the target of their anger. "Shadepelt is no longer a bad Pokemon. She has renounced her allegiance with the Life Stealers and has joined us. You don't have to fear her or take out any past fury on her."

Shadepelt looked away guiltily as Lancelot came to her defense. It was clear that she was ashamed of her past actions. The members of Team Bluefire patted her on the back – the three young rescuers had formed more or less of a bond with the former Life Stealer.

The Gallade then walked off farther inland, motioning for Gaby and Luke to come along. It seemed like he wanted to show the two kids around the Isle of Eternity. Barn and the rest of Team Destiny decided to use this opportunity to meet some of these new faces that had just arrived, and struck up a conversation with Team Fossil and Team Eevui.

Meanwhile, all of the Platinum-ranked rescue teams had joined Stellar in a conversation. "The Tranquility sustained some rather bad injuries in a terrible storm," Chet the Corphish was explaining. "According to Team Bluefire, anyway. Do you think you could send someone to work on it, Stellar?"

The Jirachi nodded thoughtfully as he regarded the ship, which indeed looked rather bedraggled. "It seems that you did a pretty good job patching it up anyway," he observed.

"Thanks to Team Crustacean," Drain the Pendrula hissed, giving the three pirates a nod.

"Aw, thank ya very much, mate!" chirped Boomer the Clauncher, waving her bigger pincer merrily. She had a strange, lilting accent that made her voice rather fun to listen to.

"Say," Rex spoke up. The Tyranitar paused for a second to scratch an itch on his knee, before continuing, "Where's Fireclaw? Shouldn't he be with you and Lancelot, Arthur?"

At the mention of the Charmeleon's name, Arthur ducked his head sorrowfully. "I regret to tell you this, fellow knights and His Majesty Stellar," he said, "but I am afraid that Sir Fireclaw was killed during our escape from the vile Abyssal Raiders."

Stellar's eyes grew wide and frightened, like a child about to cry. Grace reached up with her tail and curled it around him comfortingly. "There there, Stellar," she soothed. "I'm sure it isn't as bad as it seems."

"Oh, it's not," Eugene said. "Fireclaw sacrificed himself to save the rest of us. We probably couldn't have escaped if it weren't for him."

"Lucky fer us, eh maties?" said Claw, nudging Junpei. The Flygon nudged him back, more forcefully, and gestured subtly to the distressed Stellar.

"Not to worry, Your Magnificence," Arthur said, bowing deeply and elaborately – for he was a very formal Pokemon that would never treat his king with what he viewed as disrespect, despite said king's protests. "Sir Fireclaw died for a noble cause. And we have already taken on a new apprentice – the young Victini we arrived with, Luke."

Stellar, Rex, Basil, and Grace all exchanged glances. "Are you sure you're ready for a new apprentice so soon?" Basil asked them. "It seems like only yesterday when you took in Fireclaw."

"When in reality, it's been years," Rex shot back, swatting his teammate upside the head. "Give it a rest, Basil. I'm sure this Luke critter's got some potential."

Boomer nodded in agreement. "The bloke's right," she replied. "Luke's a mighty fine little biter. He'll be able ta keep up with Lancelot an' Arthur, and he'll be a Guardian himself before we know it!"

"Who is he, anyway?" Stellar asked with interest. "I've never met a fellow Legendary before, aside from the obvious exception of Queen Tania. Where'd he come from?"

Terence shook his repulsive head. "None of us knows," he explained. "All Luke's ever said is that he was abandoned by his parents at a young age, and that he lived around Seaside Village until recently. That's it."

"He hasn't even said anything to Lancelot's daughter," Burner the Moskeeteor continued. "And we know that the two of them are very close. It must be bad if he's keeping such a secret hidden from her."

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence. It was broken by Grace, who flashed the gem on her forehead as a call for attention.

"We should talk about this later," she told them. "In the meantime, it's clear that all of you have been through a lot. Would you possibly mind explaining your story to us?"

"Not at all, me hearties!" said Claw heartily. "We'll gather up them others over there and wait fer Lancelot ta come back. Then we'll tell ye all about our journey inteh the briny deep."

Stellar looked around at all the uncomfortable faces surrounding him, and frowned. _Could what they experienced really be that bad?_ he asked himself.

-.-.-.-.-.

Luke and Gaby could both safely say that they had never seen anything quite like this island before. The trees were immense – so much so, in fact, that the Guardians were able to live almost their entire lives above the ground. As they followed Lancelot further inland, they always found something new to stare at and comment on.

The Pokemon that crossed their path were all so diverse that the duo couldn't help but gaze at each of them in wonder. Everyone that came close always smiled at Lancelot, giving him a cheery greeting and saying that they were so glad to see him back on the isle. Even though Luke and Gaby both knew that the Gallade was a very well-known Guardian, it was still quite amazing.

"I've got a lot to live up to, don't I?" asked Luke nervously. His statement was so abrupt that it caught Gaby by surprise.

"Don't worry about it," the Kirlia assured him. "You'll do Father proud as an apprentice, I know it."

Word apparently traveled fast on the Isle of Eternity. Now, as the trio continued walking, more and more Pokemon seemed to be actively seeking them out in order to welcome the leader of Team Knights back home. Some of them seemed to have even figured out that Luke was the newest member of his team, and they gave the Victini many compliments and words of encouragement. He just blushed from all the attention and stuck close to Gaby.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before one Pokemon in particular heard of their arrival. And that time turned out to be sooner than later.

Lancelot, Gaby, and Luke were walking through the forest in which many rescue teams had built their own homes – almost identical-looking huts perched upon great spiraling walkways that coiled around the trees. But just as a pair of Pokemon, an Aggron and a Manectric, walked up to greet them, a voice cried out from some distance away.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Let me pass!" it cried. Luke glanced up at Lancelot – the Gallade seemed to grow slightly more alert, as if he recognized the voice. Indeed, it looked like Gaby recognized it as well. Confused, Luke turned his gaze back in front of hum, to the spot where the Aggron and Manectric were already moving away from.

The two Pokemon left, and what they had previously blocked from view was suddenly revealed – a Gardevoir running the last few steps toward them, a baby Ralts in her arms. She stopped and simply stared at them, eyes tearful and smile joyful.

All of a sudden, Luke knew who she was. They had met way back when Luke, Wyvern, and Pteryx had saved Gaby from a murderous Fearow. The Psychic-and-Fairy-type was in fact Gaby's mother!

"Adrianna…" Lancelot murmured, a slow smile spreading across his face. He hadn't seen his dear wife since before the day he, Arthur, and Fireclaw had been captured by the Abyssal Raiders.

"Lancelot…" she said back, bending down to put her child on the ground. Adrianna then rushed forward and flung her arms around her husband, embracing him with relief, happiness, and love.

As Gaby's parents happily reunited, the Kirlia reached down to pluck her baby brother from the ground. Topaz squealed happily and hugged his sister around the neck, simply overjoyed to see her again. Luke simply smiled to himself and hovered awkwardly nearby, content with just watching Gaby's family finally come together again. Eventually, the heartfelt hugs and kisses were all exchanged, and the family of four stood side-by-side once again for the first time in a month.

Lancelot suddenly noticed Luke and gestured him over. "Adrianna," he told her, "this is Luke, the newest member of Team Knights."

"Oh yes!" the Gardevoir said, her face brightening. "I remember you, Luke dear! You helped save Gaby from those terrible criminals! I cannot thank you enough for that."

Luke blushed and muttered that it was nothing.

"And this is Topaz, Luke," Gaby said, holding up the little Ralts. "He's my little brother. Say hi, Topaz," she added.

Topaz gurgled and gave Luke a wide smile, reaching out and grabbing the Victini's nose when he floated close enough. Everyone laughed as Luke pried the child's fingers off of his nose and got him back by pinching his cheek.

Gaby handed her brother back to Adrianna, who cuddled him in her usual protective fashion. When her hands were free, she lightly swatted Luke and said, "That's for pinching my brother."

Luke blushed and chuckled nervously. Such a reaction must have made the Kirlia feel guilty, because she reached out to hold his hand comfortingly and bent down to kiss him on the cheek. Luke smiled at her, and she smiled back.

Adrianna saw the Victini and her daughter together and beamed with motherly pride. _My little Gaby's growing up,_ she thought wistfully, tears forming in her eyes again. _I guess I can consider dear Luke a part of my family now._

-.-.-.-.-.

**Team Storm belongs to Frozen Archer, requested way back in the early days of "Destined Explorers of Legend". However, I changed their species to an OC Pokemon and two Pokemon from X/Y. By the way, you can check out Salem the Sinistorm on my Deviantart account, along with his pre-evolutions.**

**I was worried about making this chapter too long, so sorry if things seem a bit rushed – you might want to refer to "Destined Explorers of Legend" if you're confused as to who everyone is.**

**Pteryx: "Whaddaya say ya give us a review here?"**

**Chapter Question #5: What do you want to see happen to our heroes now that they've finally made it home?**


	7. Welcome Home, Guardians! Part 2

**Part 2 is here, and we'll finally get to find out what happened to our recent arrivals to the Isle of Eternity. I'm sure most of you know what happened already, but still, it's an important moment to the story.**

-.-.-.-.-.

The group of Pokemon was far too big to hold the meeting in Stellar's chamber, even though that particular room was pretty large. The meeting couldn't be held on the docks, either – that place was far too public. Instead, Stellar suggested that they hold the meeting on Craggy Cliff, on the north side of the island.

Craggy Cliff was a rather isolated spot, a cliff that rose gradually into the air before suddenly dropping into the sea far below. It was rocky, almost pure rock, and thus very few plants could grow here. No plants also meant no trees, and no trees meant a spectacular view of the star-filled sky at night. Indeed, this place was Stellar's favorite place to stargaze. Everyone agreed to meet him there, knowing that its isolation from the rest of the island made it a good place to hold a meeting.

That afternoon, when the sky was partially blue and partially crowded by grey clouds, a large group of Pokemon gathered on the cliff. Stellar and Team Sunburst sat on the peak of the cliff, and the others formed a loose arrangement around them. Team Knights, Fossil, Eevui, Bluefire, Sand Dragons, Crustacean, Bloodsucker, and Destiny were all present and accounted for.

"So, where do we start?" asked Stellar, looking around at the assembled Guardians. "Or rather, where does your story start?"

Everyone exchanged glances at one another. During their weeks at sea, they had all recounted their part in this grand scheme of terrible events and had worked out the entire story. But now, they weren't sure who would begin telling such a story.

Finally, Wyvern began. "I suppose we should start at the beginning, during the storm," he said. At these words, Pteryx, Tortuga, Gaby, Luke, and various others nodded.

"It was a terrible hurricane," Terra recounted. The little Charmander shuddered at the memory. "We all ended up getting split away from our original groups and scattered all around the western ocean."

Gaby added, "I was piloting the _Tranquility_ when it hit. My friends and I got separated – Luke and I ended up in the Elemental Islets, where we met Cobalt. Tortuga and Pteryx washed ashore there as well. We all reunited and met Team Eevui and Team Bloodsucker there on Fire Isle."

"I had the fortune to stay with the _Tranquility_," Wyvern went on. "The ship and I washed up on Deepdark Island, where I met Terra and some other Pokemon named Cenric."

Stellar, who had been quiet, spoke up. "Did this happen before or after the sinking of Diamond Island?" he asked.

"After," said Pteryx.

"I was a survivor," Cobalt piped up. "Same with Terra. But we don't know where Alphonse and Evelyn ended up. We haven't seen them since the hurricane."

Immediately, Barn and Elf became alert. "Alphonse and Evelyn!" they both exclaimed.

"Vere they Tentacruel and Dragonair, little one?" asked Vladimir, equally surprised.

Terra answered for her friend. "Yeah, they were," the Charmander squeaked. "Alphonse is really grumpy and Evelyn is kind and calm."

"That's them!" said Barn. "They said they washed up near Seaside Village after we met them. Then we encountered the leader of the Darkfeathers gang and battled her and her lackeys."

At this bit of news, Grace, Basil, and Rex exchanged looks. The Guardians had been after the leader of the Darkfeathers, Mara the Honchkrow, for some years now. "Didja win?" inquired Rex.

Elf nodded. "Yes, we did. It was all thanks to Adrianna's son, actually. He somehow took out Mara in one attack after she tried kidnapping him."

"But she ended up finding my Shard after that," murmured Gaby, bowing her head sadly. Luke patted her on the shoulder sympathetically. Mara had indeed stolen the Aqua Shard, which Gaby had instantly known even when she was miles away from it.

Stellar shook his head as if to try and process all this information. "So basically," he summarized, "Team Fossil, Team Bluefire, and a bunch of you others were caught in a hurricane and scattered around the western ocean. Some of you met Team Bloodsucker and Eevui on Fire Isle, and some of you battled Mara. Is that the gist of it so far?"

Okami the Sylveon nodded. "Yep!" she confirmed. "It was on Fire Isle we met Gaby, Luke, Pteryx, Tortuga, and Cobalt."

"I was in a coma when it happened," Pteryx piped up. "I didn't actually end up formally meetin' 'em until after the darned Darkfeathers attacked."

Grace blinked. "What?"

"The Darkfeathers attacked Fire Isle in search of the Aqua Shard," Miranda said quietly. "It was during the battle that I evolved and the village was destroyed. They were led by one named Clawface."

Barn's eyes widened. "Mara enlisted his help in finding the Shards!" he remembered. "We learned that after we were kidnapped by the Darkfeathers."

"But we all managed to get away," Burner said, fluttering his wings. "We escaped in the _Windchaser_, and when Clawface tried to chase us, Tesla shot him down with an Electroweb and killed him."

The Conductula nodded, remembering the cloaked mercenary falling from the sky in a net of electric tendrils and into the water. His scream still haunted her sometimes.

"But Celosia didn't get away," quavered Sinestra, the littlest Eevee. "She was killed helping us to escape." She had always admired the brave Glaceon.

Now Terra spoke up again. "It was around this time that Wyvern and I met, along with Cenric. We tried fixing the _Tranquility_ with the trees we found on Deepdark Island, but we were attacked by Kingler and Carvanha."

Lancelot raised a hand. "Excuse me," he interrupted, "but those were Abyssal Raiders, right?" When Terra and Wyvern nodded, he continued, "Those same Kingler were the ones who ambushed me, my team, and Cliff."

"They took my Shard as well," the Growlithe added, running a paw across his tattered scarf. "They found the Earthen Shard that I was going to deliver to you Guardians."

Drain waved his many legs and continued the story. "Shortly after Wyvern and the rest were captured by the Abyssal Raiders, they attacked the _Windchaser_ and almost sunk us. We got away and survived, but they took Pteryx, Gaby, Luke, Okami, and Jowl away with them."

"This was after I snuck on board as a spy for the Life Stealers," Shadepelt said shamefully, not looking at anyone. Barn and Elf both shot her caustic glares.

Stellar interrupted again and once again summarized all the information. "Let me get this straight. After the hurricane, the Darkfeathers lay siege to Fire Isle, the Windchaser and Shadepelt escape, and then the Abyssal Raiders not only attack the boat, but Wyvern and Terra on Deepdark Island as well?"

The hackles on Jowl's neck rose angrily. "Yes," he growled. "The Abyssal Raiders forced us into cells in their dungeon and kept us prisoner. That's how we all met."

"Or in some cases, reunited," Wyvern added, remembering seeing his dear brother again at last.

"The despicable sea scum forced us to battle in their arena for their own vile amusement!" Arthur burst out, continuing the story. "Some of us barely got out alive! Sir Fireclaw and Sir Pteryx were both gravely wounded and could barely carry on!"

Putting a restraining hand on the outraged knight's shoulder was Lancelot, who shook his head disapprovingly. Arthur calmed down and let the storytelling commence.

"So anyway," Pteryx said, "ol' Fireclaw was the one ta bust us outta the dungeon and attempt an escape. But the Abyssal Raiders tried ta stop us! However…" His voice trailed off as he remembered what had happened next.

Stellar was on the edge of the rock he used as a seat. "What? What happened next?!" he asked, desperate to hear the rest.

Opening his mouth to answer, Junpei all of a sudden thought better of it and gestured to Team Crustacean, silently asking them to continue. The three of them nodded and turned to Stellar.

"Ye ever heard o' the Jellicent Kingdom, laddie?" inquired Claw, and Stellar shook his head.

"'Course ya haven't!" Boomer replied. "None of us had until then, mate! They've been hidin', apparently, fer Arceus knows how long. But what they did was reveal 'emselves and completely destroy the Raiders!"

Stellar's eyes bugged. He wasn't the only one to have this reaction.

"Are you certain?" Basil demanded.

"Positive," murmured Chet. "We were undercover in the Raiders' hideout for a while, and not even we suspected that we were the only infiltrators."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Rex roared, wanting the answers as badly as his teammates.

Gaby continued tentatively. "Well… one of the Raiders was a double agent for the Jellicent Kingdom. We thought that she was worse than El Nino, but no one ever suspected her. Her name was… L-Lady Sapphire."

Everyone present shuddered involuntarily. The mere mention of the demented Frillish's name was enough to provoke tremors of fear down even Arthur's proverbial spine. And for good reason – Sapphire was insane, twisted, sadistic, and extremely crafty.

"What happened next?" Stellar asked cautiously. "After this… Sapphire girl destroyed the Raiders?"

"We escaped with the help of Claw," answered Okami. "But Fireclaw was killed before we did."

There was a brief moment of silence as everyone remembered that dreadful scene – the brave Charmeleon sacrificing himself, drowning inside a Water Pulse attack.

"Then what?" breathed Grace, breaking the quiet at last.

"We repaired the _Tranquility_ and set sail fer Seaside Village, maties!" bellowed Claw, puffing out his shelled chest. "It was truly a masterful bit o' shipbuildin', laddie. Yeh ain't never seen anythin' like it."

"Anyway…" Pteryx muttered, "it was then we found out that the Darkfeathers had destroyed Seaside Village as well."

"But it was then that we all reunited and formed the huge group you see here!" Sinestra said happily.

"We of Team Sand Dragons had joined the _Windchaser_'s remaining crew before this point, I might add," Eugene interjected.

"And then we all sailed to the Isle of Eternity," Terence finished. "And that's all of it."

The child King of the Guardians was simultaneously awestruck and horrified at what the Pokemon had all gone through. The members of Team Sunburst were similarly speechless. But they eventually recovered and gathered their thoughts.

"This is distressing news," Grace mused. "The Jellicent Kingdom… they must be extraordinarily powerful if they wiped out the Abyssal Raiders."

"Think of vhat this could mean for vorld of Pokemon," added Vladimir. "If they get Shards, all is lost."

"Indeed," quavered Basil, looking a little shaken from these revelations. "Whatever will we do if we ever meet them face-to-face?"

"We'll fight 'em!" bellowed Rex, stomping his foot on the ground with a loud thud. "Come on, we're Guardians! We can take on a few slimy deep-dwellers!"

Basil scowled at his teammate. "It obviously won't be that easy, you big brute," the Serperior objected. "If these creatures can remain hidden for so long and wipe out a criminal gang that we've been trying to defeat for years, then…"

Before Grace could step in as usual to end the bickering, Wyvern reached over and clamped his claws over Basil's mouth, cutting off his speech. The Archeops gave Grace a sarcastic bow, to which several Pokemon chuckled. This seemed to relieve the tension somewhat.

Stellar rose up from his seat on the ground, his cape-like membranes unfurling to their full length and catching everyone's attention. "This is a little frightening, all this news you've given us today," he said, trying to keep his own fear from entering his voice. "But this only means we have to quicken our search for the Shards. If these Jellicent Kingdom Pokemon, or any of the criminal gangs, get their claws on all five of the Shards, they'll be able to control whether or not Xerneas and Yveltal remain in balance."

There were nods all around, and the Jirachi continued. "This new force that has been revealed is certainly a danger to our quest and the welfare of the world of Pokemon, so it is extremely important that we find the remaining three Shards, and fast."

"Easier said than done," remarked Eugene, clicking his sharp teeth together.

"You're right," Shadepelt replied, standing up. "Is there anywhere at all we can start looking? Anywhere that might be mysterious or remote enough to conceal a Shard?"

Elf spoke up now. "There have been rumors circulating around the island recently that the Hot Peak Volcano might hide one of the Shards," the Hoothoot offered.

Rex nodded wisely. "Oh yeah, the Flame Shard," he replied. "We on Team Sunburst have been convinced for a while that it's in the volcano near Vulcana City."

Finally, Basil succeeded in ripping Wyvern's claws away from his snout. He took a deep breath, then added, "Yes, but when we sent Team Hydroburn two weeks ago to possibly confirm these rumors, they disappeared. We haven't heard anything from them, except for a rescue notice that Team Midnight delivered."

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "Team Midnight is back?" he inquired. "It has certainly been a while since I have seen them."

"We can catch up on old times later, Arthur," said Boomer. "Right now, we gotta focus on retrievin' them Shards 'fore the bad guys do, savvy?"

Quiet descended on the group of Pokemon as each of them retreated into his or her own thoughts, wondering what to do. The only sounds were the crash of the waves against the bottom of the cliff and the occasional shriek of a Wingull overhead. Several of them were thinking about the Hot Peak Volcano and Team Hydroburn, and why they hadn't come back from their mission yet – apparently, they'd been missing for weeks. What could be done?

Junpei suddenly stepped forward, with Eugene and Terence at his side. "We want to save Team Hydroburn," said the leader of Team Sand Dragons. "If anyone has to go, we will. We'll be able to get past all the Fire-type wild Pokemon that live there if we have to, and" –

"Hold it!" cried a voice.

Everyone turned around and gaped at the speaker – it was none other than Okami, with the rest of her team standing around her with determined expressions on their faces.

"We volunteer to go to the Hot Peak Volcano, save Team Hydroburn, and find the Shard!" said the young Sylveon, and her only answer was stunned silence.

-.-.-.-.-.

**Looks like Team Eevui wants to do some good! But will Stellar pick them, or the more experienced Team Sand Dragons, to go?**

**I might not be accepting OCs anymore, but if anyone has any good ideas about how I can expand the plot, feel free to suggest some. Writing sequels is hard, and I'm really struggling to decide where the plot should go.**

**Okami: "Review in the name of Team Eevui!"**

**Chapter Question #6: Who's your favorite of the Guardians/rescue teams? Which team would you join if you were a Pokemon?**


End file.
